Donald Trump fined US$10,000 a day for failure to produce files in fraud investigation
- A New York judge found the ex-US president in contempt of court after he missed a deadline to turn over documents for a civil probe into his business dealings
- Investigators say Trump may have misstated the value of assets like golf courses and skyscrapers on his financial statements for more than a decade
A New York judge found former president Donald Trump in contempt of court of 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 ordered Trump to pay a fine of US$10,000 per day.
“Mr Trump, I know you take your business seriously, and I take mine seriously,” Engoron said before issuing the ruling from the bench in a Manhattan courtroom, following a hearing.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, had asked the court to hold Trump in contempt after he missed a March 31 court-imposed deadline to turn over documents.
The judge said a contempt finding was appropriate because Trump and his lawyers’ had not shown that they had conducted a proper search for the records sought by the subpoena.