NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� A New York judge found former President Donald Trump in contempt of court and set in motion $10,000 daily fines Monday for failing to adequately respond to a subpoena issued by the state's attorney general as part of a civil investigation into his business dealings.
Judge Arthur Engoron said a contempt finding was appropriate because Trump and his lawyers hadn鈥檛 shown they had conducted a proper search for records sought by the subpoena.
鈥淢r. Trump, I know you take your business seriously, and I take mine seriously," Engoron said in a Manhattan courtroom that was packed with reporters, but absent of Trump. "I hereby hold you in civil contempt and fine you $10,000 a day鈥� until the terms of the subpoena are met.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, had asked the court to hold Trump in contempt after he failed to produce any documents to satisfy a March 31 court-imposed deadline to meet the terms of the subpoena.
Trump, a Republican, , which he has called a politically motivated 鈥渨itch hunt.鈥� During oral arguments Monday, Trump attorney Alina Habba said that 鈥淒onald Trump does not believe he is above the law.鈥�
Habba said in a statement that the ruling will be appealed.
鈥淲e respectfully disagree with the court's decision. All documents responsive to the subpoena were produced to the attorney general months ago,鈥� she said.
James has been conducting a lengthy investigation into the Trump Organization, the former president鈥檚 family company, centering around what she has claimed is a pattern of misleading banks and tax authorities about the value of his properties.
鈥淭oday, justice prevailed,鈥� James said in a release after Engoron鈥檚 ruling. 鈥淔or years, Donald Trump has tried to evade the law and stop our lawful investigation into him and his company鈥檚 financial dealings. Today鈥檚 ruling makes clear: No one is above the law.鈥�
The contempt finding by the judge came despite a spirited argument by Habba, who insisted repeatedly that she went to great lengths to comply with the subpoena, even traveling to Florida to ask Trump specifically whether he had in his possession any documents that would be responsive to the demand.
The judge, though, criticized the lack of detailed explanation in the Trump team's formal response to the subpoena, telling Habba: 鈥淵ou can't just stand here and say I searched this and that.鈥�
And after saying he felt 鈥渓ike there's an 800-pound gorilla in the room here,鈥� he asked why the response to the subpoena didn't include an affidavit from Trump.
Habba noted that Trump does not send emails or text messages and has no work computer 鈥渁t home or anywhere else.鈥� She described the search for documents as 鈥渄iligent.鈥�
鈥淭he contempt motion is inappropriate and misleading,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e complied. ... There are no more documents left to produce by President Trump.鈥�
She also derided the James probe as a 鈥減olitical crusade鈥� and 鈥渢ruly a fishing expedition,鈥� saying Trump and his companies had turned over more than 6 million documents and paperwork related to 103 Trump entities for an eight-year period.
鈥淲e've turned over everything as fast as possible. This is a waste of judicial resources,鈥� Habba added.
She also defended Trump's character, saying: 鈥淢y client is an honest person much to the dismay of certain people in this room.鈥�
Trump spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Investigators for James have said in court filings that they uncovered evidence that Trump may have misstated the value of assets like golf courses and skyscrapers on his financial statements for more than a decade.
At the hearing, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Amer said the investigation was being hampered 鈥渂ecause we don't have evidence from the person at the top of this organization.鈥�
And he said the failure to turn documents over in response to the subpoena was 鈥渆ffectively Mr. Trump thumbing his nose at this court's order.鈥�
Still, Assistant Attorney General Kevin Wallace signaled the probe was about to move to a new phase, saying: 鈥淲e plan to bring enforcement action in the near future.鈥�
is being conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, also a Democrat.
Monday's contempt finding was not the first for someone who has held the nation's highest office.
While in the White House, then-President Bill Clinton was found in civil contempt of court in April 1999 in connection to his deposition in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him in Arkansas by Paula Jones.
Judge Susan Webber Wright held him in contempt for his testimony, where he falsely said he hadn鈥檛 had a sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. That contempt citation came two months after his acquittal in Congress on articles of impeachment over his testimony.
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Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Washington and Deepti Hajela in New York contributed to this story.
Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press
