(RoyalPatriot.com )- Former President Donald Trump lost his appeal case over his civil contempt of court ruling, meaning the court can fine him $10,000 for every day he doesn’t comply with the subpoena.
Last Friday, Trump said as part of a sworn affidavit that he doesn’t possess any of the documents that the attorney general’s office in New York State is looking for. The judge didn’t agree with his arguments, and ruled that the contempt finding will remain.
In the affidavit, Trump swore:
“To the best of my knowledge, (i) I do not have any of the documents requested in the subpoena dated December 1, 2021, in my personal possession; and (ii) if there are any documents responsive to the subpoena, I believe they would be in the possession or custody of the Trump Organization.
“At all relevant times, I have authorized, and continue to authorize, the release of a responsive document to the Office of the Attorney General.”
Included with Trump’s sworn affidavit was a document that outlines all the steps that the attorney for Trump took to search for the documents that the New York AG’s office is looking for.
Even still, Arthur Engoron, the judge in the case, was unsatisfied with the explanation, apparently, as he denied Trump’s motion to end the contempt as well as the fine that goes along with it.
In his ruling, Engoron said “the affirmations submitted by counsel for Mr. Trump are insufficient in that they fail to specify who searched for each respective request, at what time, where, and using what search protocols; it is not sufficient simply to attach a list of people who participated in the searches.”
He continued:
“Furthermore, Mr. Trump’s personal affidavit … fails to state where he kept his files, how his files were stored in the regular course of business, who had access to such files … and, importantly, where he believes such files are currently located.”
After the ruling was handed down, Alina Habba, Trump’s lawyer, said:
“This Court has improperly held my client in contempt for a violation that he did not commit solely because the OAG declared it ‘insufficient’ without any basis. We will zealously prosecute our appeal of the Court’s improper application of both law and fact.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James issued the subpoenas for these documents as part of her office’s civil investigation into the former president’s company, The Trump Organization.
At the root of her investigation is an alleged overvaluing of assets to gain favor from banks, and then a devaluation of assets to gain tax advantages. James has been conducting this investigation for a while now.
The former president has consistently said he and his company didn’t do anything wrong, and that James’ investigation is merely a witch hunt that is politically motivated.
James has railed against Trump since she ran for attorney general in New York a few years ago, so his claims of political bias aren’t off base.
