Trump held in contempt, must pay $10,000-a-day fine

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Former twice-impeached President Donald Trump will be fined $10,000 a day for failing to comply with a subpoena from New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Judge Arthur Engoron said Monday that he would hold Trump in contempt for failing to comply with the court’s order compelling him to produce certain documents in the AG’s investigation.

“Thus, Donald J. Trump is in contempt of Court and must pay a fine of $10,000 per day, from the date of this Decision and Order, until he purges such contempt to the satisfaction of this Court,” Judge Engoron wrote in a three-page written order.

That same day, Judge Engoron also ordered the former president’s longtime appraisers, Cushman and Wakefield, to ober James’ subpoenas. 

“For the second time today, a judge has made clear that no one is above the law,” said James in a press release.

Trump held in contempt

The AG’s office believes Cushman has a decade-long history of issuing questionable statements about the value of the former president’s properties. The AG’s office has said that those questionable assessments were used by Trump to get hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and tax breaks.

Cushman valued Trump’s stake in the 40 Wall Street skyscraper in Manhattan at $220 million in 2012. Three years later, they assessed his stake at $550 million, more than double what they’d said three years prior.

Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, has said she may appeal the ruling.

“Cushman & Wakefield’s work for Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization is clearly relevant to our investigation, and we are pleased that has now been confirmed by the court,” said James.