A New York judge on Friday said he was surprised that former US president Donald Trump, a man he described as perhaps the world’s most famous real-estate developer, was unable to provide any documents sought in a probe of the Trump Organization, his family company.
Justice Arthur Engoron in New York state court in Manhattan told a virtual hearing that he would continue holding Trump in contempt of court and fine him US$10,000 a day, despite a request from Trump’s lawyer to lift both orders.
“He’s Donald Trump, the most famous real-estate developer in the world, arguably,” the judge said. “I am surprised he doesn’t seem to have any documents; they’re all with the organization.”
Photo: Reuters
On Monday, Engoron issued the orders over Trump’s failure to comply with New York Attorney General Letitia James’ subpoena for documents.
On Wednesday, Trump signed an affidavit saying he did not believe he had any relevant documents and, if there were any, the Trump Organization would have them.
On Friday, Engoron said that the document bore “his inimitable signature” in what appeared to be a Sharpie.
However, he said that it lacked useful detail about where Trump kept his records.
To purge the contempt finding, Trump would have to submit an affidavit swearing to where his files were located, how they were stored, and who had access to them, as well as whether he turned over his personal electronic devices for searching and imaging, Engoron said later in a written order.
At the hearing, the judge honed in on the small pieces of paper with an adhesive strip on one side that Trump is known for using.
“He’s famous for post-its,” the judge said. “When he wants something done, he puts a post-it on something. I don’t think we’ve received any post-its.”
Trump Organization general counsel Alan Garten testified as part of the attorney general’s probe that Trump used post-it notes to communicate with employees, court records showed.
However, Trump lawyer Alina Habba said: “He doesn’t have the documents that you want.”
James says her probe has already found evidence that the Trump Organization has given banks and tax authorities misleading financing information to obtain benefits such as favorable loans and tax breaks.
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