On Friday, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron refused to withdraw his decision to impose a $10,000 daily fine for contempt of court even after Trump’s lawyers appealed the ruling and provided a documented deposition.
According to Judge Engoron, the new testimony explaining the inability of Trump’s team to locate documents sought by Attorney General Letitia James was not detailed enough.
“Mr. Trump’s personal affidavit is completely devoid of any useful detail,” the judge wrote. “Notably, it 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, what, if any, the retention policy was for such files, and, importantly, where he believes such files are currently located.”
The court required a search that would include all of Trump’s mobile phones, Trump Tower in Manhattan, each of Trump’s properties where he maintains a “private residence” and “personal office,” off-site storage locations, and “all electronic devices issued by the Trump Organization to Trump’s executive assistants, according to CNBC.
In a separate deposition, submitted on Wednesday, Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said that after a comprehensive search, they haven’t found any additional documents that could be provided in response to the attorney general’s requirement of eight categories of records.
“Respondent’s productions and responses to the Subpoena are complete and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief,” Habba wrote. “No documents or information responsive to the Subpoena have been withheld from Respondent’s production and response.”
On Tuesday, the court imposed a $10,000-per-day fine on the former president after the prosecution found that Trump had not provided “a single document” the court had required he submit to investigators back in December 2021.
Hubba responded at the time that Trump does not believe that he is above the law, but simply does not have in writing the documents that the court required. She stated that the politician allegedly provided hundreds of thousands of documents through his assistants.
The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James has been investigating the Trump Organization over alleged financial misinformation for over two years. Investigators said they have uncovered numerous misleading or fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions in the Trump Organization's financial records.