Donald Trump Faces Daily Fines Until Classified Docs Are Returned

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Donald Trump could be fined every day until he complies with a subpoena issued to him in connection with an investigation into classified documents.

The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to hold Trump’s office in contempt of court after concerns that he still hasn’t returned all top secret materials removed from the White House in January 2021.

The former president was originally subpoenaed to return the classified materials in May. Trump’s lawyers assured the FBI that all materials were returned in June. More than 100 documents, including those marked top secret, were eventually seized by federal agents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in August.

The request for District Judge Beryl A. Howell to hold Trump’s office in contempt comes after the former president’s lawyers reportedly found two more documents with classified markings at a storage facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. before Thanksgiving.

Above, former President Donald Trump speaks on May 28, 2022, in Casper, Wyoming at a rally to support Harriet Hageman, the primary challenger to Rep. Liz Cheney. Trump could face daily fines if he doesn’t comply with a subpoena to hand over all classified documents to the government. Chet Strange/Getty Images

The lawyers turned the documents over to the FBI and told a judge they now again believe Trump is no longer in possession of many more classified materials, a claim denied by prosecutors.

Howell is expected to make a decision Friday on whether to hold Trump’s office in defiance. If found in contempt, Trump or his legal team could face daily fines until the demands of the subpoena are met in May, with the decision on how much the daily fine is up to the judge.

Prosecutors also suggested that Trump’s team should be disbarred for failing to appoint an official custodian of records to sign a document certifying that all classified materials had been returned to the federal government. .

In June, Trump’s team told the government that attorney Christina Bobb was the custodian of the records. Bobb signed a letter, written by attorney Evan Corcoran, confirming to the FBI that all classified materials had been returned following a “diligent search.”

Bobb was said to be hesitant about signing the letter, telling the DOJ that he asked for a disclaimer that claims about the materials were “based on information provided to me.”

Earlier this year, Trump paid a $110,000 fine for refusing to comply with a civil subpoena issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

In April, New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump would be fined $10,000 a day unless he turned over all documents to James’ office as part of an investigation into The Trump Organization’s bank fraud inquiry.

On May 11, Engoron released Trump from the judicial order on the condition that he repay the $110,000 he had already collected by May 20.

Trump was not asked to pay the total cost of the May 11 run of fines, which would have reached $160,000, because his lawyers filed 66 pages of court documents on May 6 to show they are trying to find the subpoenaed records.

Trump later paid the full $110,000 on May 20.

James continues his investigation into allegations that Trump inflated the value of his properties and assets to achieve better bank loans and other benefits, and announced a $250 million lawsuit against to the former president and three of his children—Ivanka, Eric and Don Jr. -in September.

Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s lawyers for comment.

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