Trump contempt fine upheld by New York appeals court

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Former US President Donald Trump speaks at a rally ahead of the midterm elections, in Miami, Florida, US, November 6, 2022.

Marco Bello | Reuters

A New York appeals court panel on Tuesday upheld a $110,000 fine against former President Donald Trump that a judge imposed last spring after he was found in contempt by failing to return documents to the state attorney general’s office as part of investigation into his company.

The five-judge panel ruled that Trump’s contempt fine for failing to comply with a subpoena for records was a “proper exercise” of Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron’s discretionary power.

The panel also said the fine of $10,000 per day was “not excessive or otherwise improper, under the particular circumstances.”

Attorney General Letitia James applauded the two-page decision issued by the First Judicial Department of the state Supreme Court Appellate Division.

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“Once again, the courts have ruled that Donald Trump is not above the law,” James said.

“For years, he has tried to prevent and prevent our legal investigation into his financial dealings, but today’s decision sends a clear message that there are consequences for abusing the legal system,” he says. “We will not be bullied or prevented from pursuing justice.”

Alina Habba, Trump’s lawyer in the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Engoron imposed the fine on Trump in April after ruling that he had repeatedly failed to provide James’ investigators with business records from the Trump Organization they were seeking for their investigation into his real estate company.

“Mr. Trump has willfully disobeyed a lawful order of the court,” Engoron said at the time.

Trump later paid the fine, but appealed Engoron’s contempt finding.

James in September filed a $250 million lawsuit against Trump, his company and three of his adult children, accusing them of massive fraud involving years’ worth of financial statements.

The suit alleges that Trump grossly overstated the value of his assets to banks, insurers and the IRS to obtain better loan and insurance terms for the Trump Organization, and to obtain tax benefits.

In addition to substantial financial damages, James’ suit seeks to permanently bar Trump and his children — Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump — from serving as officers of a New York company, and the Trump companies named as defendants from doing business in New York state.

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