(FreedomBeacon.com)- On Monday, a New York judge ruled that former President Donald Trump was in contempt for not complying with a subpoena issued to him, and as a result, was subject to a fine of $10,000 per day.
Two days later, a lawyer for Trump said the former president would appeal both the ruling and the fine.
Alina Habba, Trump’s lawyer, filed the appeal with the Appellate Division in New York state, saying the former president had “proffered a timely response to the subpoena.”
Earlier in the week, Judge Arthur Engoron handed down the civil contempt ruling and fine amount for his “repeated failures” to turn materials over to Letitia James, the attorney general in New York, as part of her investigation into the business practices of the Trump Organization.
That investigation, which has been going on for three years now, is looking into whether the company valued its assets improperly in an attempt to gain financial benefits.
In the appeal, Habba said the appellate court should review if the fine “serves any purpose as either a compensatory or coercive remedy.” She further argued that the AG didn’t show that Trump’s conduct harmed her office in any way.
Since the beginning of the investigation, Trump has denied doing anything wrong. He has consistently labeled the investigation as politically motivated, and he has a pretty good case there. Since she was campaigning for the AG position, James said one of her goals was to take down Trump.
During Monday’s court hearing that was held in Manhattan, Habba said the former president didn’t have the documents that James’ office requested through the subpoena.
As part of his ruling Monday, though, Engoron said Trump would be levied a $10,000 fine for every day that he didn’t comply with the subpoena. In issuing the ruling, the judge said the former president didn’t give sufficient evidence that he actually conducted a good enough search for those documents.
Following the ruling, James released a statement that said:
“The judge’s order was clear. We’ve seen this playbook before, and it has never stopped our investigation of Mr. Trump and his organization.”
She further said the investigation revealed “significant evidence” that Trump’s company used misleading valuations of their assets over more than 10 years of various financial statements.
James has questioned how the Trump Organization has placed a value on the former president’s brand, the golf clubs it owns in Scotland and New York, as well as the penthouse apartment the former president owns in the Trump Tower located in Manhattan’s Midtown neighborhood.
The AG’s office further commented that in some cases, the Trump Organization overvalued its assets so that they could get loan terms that were favorable. In other instances, they undervalued the assets so they could get tax benefits.
Trump had originally fought the subpoena altogether, but lost that case. As a result, he was given an original deadline of March 3 to comply, but that was later extended to March 31.
