Former President Donald Trump appealed a New York choose’s ruling holding him in contempt of court docket and imposing a $10,000 day by day nice for failing to adjust to a subpoena in a civil fraud investigation.
The problem, filed Wednesday in Manhattan, seeks reversal of an April 25 discovering that Trump violated a court docket order handy over data to New York Lawyer Common Letitia James, who’s probing probably deceptive asset valuations on the former president’s real-estate firm.
The submitting by Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, didn’t give particulars about what arguments she’ll make on enchantment. She beforehand mentioned she’s ready to swear that Trump doesn’t have any data to show over.
Donald Trump Photographer: Yuri Gripas/Bloomberg
James, a Democrat, mentioned in a press release that the enchantment is one other try to delay her investigation.
“We’ve seen this playbook earlier than, and it has by no means stopped our investigation of Mr. Trump and his group,” James mentioned. “This time is not any totally different.”
New York state court docket Choose Arthur Engoron held that Trump had “willfully disobeyed” a February order affirming the subpoena was legitimate. Trump agreed to conform by March 31, however when the deadline hit he as an alternative filed 16 pages of what the choose described as “boilerplate objections.”
Engoron dominated that Habba’s written assure that she’d appeared for data and located none that have been related was inadequate. The choose mentioned that solely an in depth account of what was searched, the way it was searched and who performed the search may justify responding to the subpoena with no data.
James’s legal professionals beforehand mentioned that subpoenas to the Trump Group and different people had resulted in additional than 6 million pages of company data being handed over, however that solely 10 paperwork have been Trump’s.
The probe has already uncovered “important” proof that deceptive asset valuations on properties together with a golf membership in Los Angeles and a Manhattan skyscraper could have been used to get extra favorable phrases on loans, insurance coverage and taxes, James has mentioned. Trump and his firm have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and claimed the probe is politically motivated.
The case is New York v. Trump Group, 2022-00814, Supreme Court docket of the State of New York (Manhattan).