Trump was held in contempt over a civil investigation.
QUICK FACTS:
- Former President Donald Trump was cleared of his contempt of court charges due to a New York judge ruling on June 29.
- The former president was held in contempt over his refusal to respond to a subpoena issued by the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, who was investigating the Trump organization.
- New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump in contempt in April of this year, but on Wednesday purged the contempt order after reviewing additional documents submitted by Trump’s legal team.
- In addition to the concept issue, Engoron said that the fine of $110,000 the former president was ordered to pay would be held in an escrow account while Trump appeals the contempt order.
- Trump lawyer Alina Habba said in a statement their team believes the original contempt ruling was “unwarranted.”
- “Although we are pleased that the court has lifted the contempt finding, we maintain that it was wholly unwarranted and improper in the first place. We will push ahead with our appeal to secure justice for our client,” Habba said.
NEW YORK AG’S CASE AGAINST TRUMP:
- In January of 2022, the New York attorney general said her office found “significant” evidence against the Trump Organization in an investigation that began in 2019.
- James’ office said they had “collected significant additional evidence indicating that the Trump Organization used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.”
- James herself weighed in on the case, saying, “For more than two years, the Trump Organization has used delay tactics and litigation in an attempt to thwart a legitimate investigation into its financial dealings. Thus far in our investigation, we have uncovered significant evidence that suggests Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization falsely and fraudulently valued multiple assets and misrepresented those values to financial institutions for economic benefit. The Trumps must comply with our lawful subpoenas for documents and testimony because no one in this country can pick and choose if and how the law applies to them. We will not be deterred in our efforts to continue this investigation and ensure that no one is above the law.”
- Trump attorneys responded to the claim, saying that James “has weaponized her office through this political witch hunt” and her actions are “a threat to our democracy” and that the state attorney general was making an “unprecedented and unconstitutional maneuver” by attempting to “circumvent the entire grand jury process” and set a “dangerous precedent.”
- “This is a rather transparent gambit,” the lawyers argued. “By attempting to play both sides, Ms. James is in a position to cherry pick her investigatory methods—civil or criminal—in a calculated manner to, for example, leverage a Fifth Amendment assertion and obtain an adverse inference.”
BACKGROUND:
- James, a Democrat, took up the case to investigate the Trump Organization shortly after she took office in 2018, after defeating Republican Keith Wofford for the job.
- Some accused the Democrat of trying to bolster her career with a high-profile case against Trump, which seemed to be confirmed when she threw her hat in the ring as a New York gubernatorial candidate for 2022.
- However, James suspended her campaign in December of 2021.
