NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York judge on Friday denied a request from Donald Trump’s lawyer to end a contempt-of-court finding against the former U.S. president and kept in place $10,000-a-day fine over his failure to comply with a subpoena issued by the state attorney general investigating the business practices of Trump’s family company, the Trump Organization.
Justice Arthur Engoron in New York state court in Manhattan said he was not satisfied with an affidavit provided by Trump and said there was no evidence Trump had conducted a thorough search for the records sought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“I am surprised he doesn’t seem to have any documents, they’re all with the organization,” the judge said.
“I will consider your request to terminate the fine,” he told Trump lawyer Alina Habba. “But if you don’t hear from me, the clock is still ticking.”
James says her probe has turned up evidence the Trump Organization, which manages hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world, has given banks and tax authorities misleading financing information in order to obtain financial benefits such as favorable loans and tax breaks.
Trump, a Republican, has denied wrongdoing and calls the probe politically motivated. James is a Democrat.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen and Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by Howard Goller)
