Former President Donald Trump is no longer in contempt of court stemming from his slow response to a subpoena from New York State Attorney General Letitia James as part of her ongoing probe into the Trump Organization, a New York judge ruled Wednesday.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron lifted the contempt order he placed against Trump on April 25 — but not before the 45th president coughed up $110,000 to James’ office for failing to comply with the subpoena.
Engoron ruled Wednesday that Trump and his attorneys have met the conditions required to lift the sanction.
The judge had said that Trump had missed a March 31 deadline to meet the terms of the subpoena and began charging him $10,000 per day on April 26.
He stopped the meter in early May, when Trump’s lawyers submitted 66 pages detailing their efforts to find and turn over the subpoenaed documents, including records of his annual financial statements, development projects and even communications with Forbes magazine.
James’ office is holding the money collected by the court in an escrow account while Trump’s legal team appeals the judge’s original contempt finding.
The Democratic AG launched her probe into the former president’s business dealings in 2019 after former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen told Congress his longtime boss had exaggerated the value of the Trump Organization for loan, insurance and tax purposes.
Trump and his children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., are scheduled to testify under oath as part of James’ investigation on July 15, after New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, knocked down their final attempt to block the testimony.
