New York Attorney General Letitia James is searching for to hold former President Donald Trump in civil contempt over his efforts to stonewall her civil tax fraud investigation.
In court docket filings Thursday, James’ workplace stated Trump failed to adjust to a decide’s order to flip over subpoenaed paperwork and requested the decide to advantageous him $10,000 a day till he turns over the paperwork and data.
“[R]ather than ‘comply in full’ with the Court’s unambiguous directive by producing all responsive documents by March 31, Mr. Trump did not comply at all,” the court docket submitting says.
James stated in a press release: “Instead of obeying a court order, Mr. Trump is trying to evade it. We are seeking the court’s immediate intervention because no one is above the law.”
Trump responded by insisting he’s “innocent.”
“This is just a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time, by a failed Attorney General, who continues to use her office for political gain,” he stated in a press release Thursday.
Trump lawyer Alina Habba stated his authorized group will “adamantly oppose the frivolous and baseless motion filed by the Attorney General’s office today.”
“Our client has consistently complied with the many discovery requests served by the Attorney General’s office over the years,” Habba stated in a press release.
James’ workplace has been investigating whether or not to file a civil swimsuit towards the Trump Organization over allegations that it inflated monetary statements for over two years. In court docket filings, her workplace alleged that it has “uncovered substantial evidence establishing numerous misrepresentations in Mr. Trump’s financial statements provided to banks, insurers, and the Internal Revenue Service.”
The Trump Organization, which has denied any wrongdoing, has portrayed itself in court docket papers as having bent over backward to adjust to the doc requests. In a February court docket submitting, the corporate stated it “has been producing thousands of documents each week (in excess of 750,000 by the OAG’s own admission), all the while keeping the OAG updated on its progress with weekly progress reports.” (“OAG” is brief for Office of the Attorney General.)
The firm additionally stated it’s “on track” to meet an April 15 deadline to flip over the entire related paperwork.
James’ workplace has complained that the corporate has been sluggish to flip over paperwork involving Trump, though he “personally executed documents central to the issues under investigation.” Among the gadgets the lawyer common’s workplace has stated it needs to evaluation are “file cabinets at the Trump Organization holding Mr. Trump’s files” and “Post-It notes” that he used “to communicate with his employees.”
In his February order, a New York decide ordered Trump personally to flip over paperwork, as nicely, which the lawyer common’s workplace had stated he agreed to do.
Trump was initially supposed to flip the paperwork over by March 1, however his legal professionals requested for extra time, the lawyer common’s workplace stated. The submitting says James’ workplace prolonged the time to March 31, “which Mr. Trump’s counsel agreed was acceptable and the Court approved.”
When March 31 arrived, nevertheless, Trump’s attorneys filed objections, arguing that the subpoena “is grossly overbroad, unintelligible, unduly burdensome, and does not adequately describe which documents and communications are requested or sought with reasonable particularity.”
James’ workplace stated that Trump’s legal professionals additionally stated they would not flip over paperwork as a result of they hadn’t been in a position to discover them and so they have been probably to be in the possession of the Trump Organization. The lawyer common’s workplace stated that’s not sufficient of a response and that Trump’s legal professionals didn’t embody essential particulars, together with “which records were sought, what locations were searched, or what individuals worked with counsel or at his direction to conduct such a search.”
In addition to the $10,000 a day in fines, James’ workplace can be asking the decide to award authorized charges for the additional prices stemming from the stonewalling.
Trump, his household and his firm have been combating James’ efforts to gather extra information from them tooth and nail in court docket.
The Trumps are interesting one other a part of the February order, from state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, which stated the previous president and two of his kids, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, have to sit for depositions in the lawyer common’s investigation.
Trump additionally sued James in federal court docket in December to halt the investigation, arguing that her probe is a politically motivated “witch hunt” designed to present gasoline for a legal investigation into the corporate by the Manhattan district lawyer’s workplace.
Two legal professionals from James’ workplace had assisted the district lawyer’s stalled investigation, which has led to legal fees towards the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, its former chief monetary officer. The firm and Weisselberg have pleaded not responsible to the fees, which embody allegations of tax fraud and falsification of enterprise data.
The two high prosecutors in the district lawyer’s investigation resigned in February, reportedly pissed off that District Attorney Alvin Bragg had paused testimony earlier than the grand jury listening to the case.
In an uncommon assertion Thursday, Bragg stated his workplace’s investigation into Trump, the Trump Organization and its management “is continuing.”
He stated his prosecutors “are going through documents, interviewing witnesses, and exploring evidence not previously explored.”
“While the law constrains me from commenting further at this time, I pledge that the Office will publicly state the conclusion of our investigation — whether we conclude our work without bringing charges, or move forward with an indictment,” Bragg stated.
“In the meantime, we will not be discussing our investigative steps,” he added.