Former President Donald Trump must pay a $110,000 fine to New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office after failing to comply with subpoenas issued as part of her probe into his financial dealings, an appeals court ruled Tuesday.
In April, Trump was held in contempt of court and fined $10,000 per day until he answered the AG’s requests for documents in her investigation of the Trump Organization. That order was lifted in May, but Trump owed James’ office a total of $110,000, and while the former president appealed the decision, on Tuesday a New York court upheld Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling.
The Appellate Division, First Department, unanimously shot down Trump’s bid to overturn the civil contempt order and fine, finding that Engoron “correctly determined” that Trump had “prejudicially violated” a prior court order to comply with the subpoenas.
“Once again, the courts have ruled that Donald Trump is not above the law,” James said in a statement Tuesday. “For years, he tried to stall and thwart our lawful investigation into his financial dealings, but today’s decision sends a clear message that there are consequences for abusing the legal system.”
“We will not be bullied or dissuaded from pursuing justice,” James said.
Trump and the AG’s office have been in a bitter legal battle since 2020 when James filed a previous lawsuit claiming that Trump’s camp was intentionally impeding her investigation.
In response to James’ probe, Trump filed two lawsuits against her office claiming she was targeting him for political gain. One of the cases was dismissed, and the other Trump dropped.
James has since filed a $250 million lawsuit against Trump as well as his children, Eric, Ivanka and Donald Jr., and the family’s real estate company for “staggering” fraud including allegedly overvaluing company assets for loan, insurance and tax benefits.
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