Court rejects Trump’s attempt to halt contempt order and $10,000 daily fine

theguardian.com:

A New York court has rejected an attempt by Donald Trump to halt a contempt order and $10,000 in daily fines levied against the former US president for failing to properly comply with an investigation into his company.

Trump was found in contempt of the court last month for failing to comply with a subpoena from Letitia James, the New York state attorney general, who is seeking financial records for her civil fraud investigation into the Trump Organization.

The twice-impeached former president was hit with a $10,000 daily fine by the judge, Arthur Engoron, until he provided the documents sought by James. Trump claims the records cannot be found and attempted to have the fines and contempt order removed.

Alina Habba, Trump’s lawyer, argued in her appeal that the “exorbitant fine is wholly unjustified” and the treatment of the property mogul and former host of the TV show The Apprentice was “unconscionable and indefensible”.

However, Engoron has turned down this appeal, leaving Trump with $80,000 in fines to date. The judge criticized an affidavit from Trump that outlined how the company has searched fruitlessly for the documents required by James.

“Mr Trump’s personal affidavit is completely devoid of any useful detail,” Engoron wrote.

James is investigating allegations that the Trump Organization committed fraud by manipulating the stated valuations of its properties in order to get more favorable terms for loans, insurance rates and taxes.

The attorney general’s legal team claims the company “used fraudulent and misleading financial statements to obtain economic benefit”.

In February, Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump, two of Trump’s children, were ordered to appear to give evidence in the case. They have appealed this order and