NY AG Wants Trump Held In Contempt For Not Turning Over Documents

NEW YORK CITY — New York's top prosecutor asked a judge to hold former President Donald Trump in contempt of court for failing to turn over documents as part of an ongoing investigation, according to a motion filed Thursday.

As part of the state's investigation into the financial workings of the Trump Organization, Attorney General Letitia James' office had served a subpoena last year demanding the unspecified documents.

But Trump blew past the March 31 deadline to hand over the materials, which was itself an extension of an initial March 3 deadline that prosecutors had given, according to James' office. On Thursday, prosecutors filed the motion to hold Trump in contempt for not complying with the subpoena — saying he should be fined $10,000 per day until he does.

"The judge’s order was crystal clear: Donald J. Trump must comply with our subpoena and turn over relevant documents to my office," James said in a statement. "Instead of obeying a court order, Mr. Trump is trying to evade it. We are seeking the court’s immediate intervention because no one is above the law."

State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron had previously rejected a February request by Trump and his children, Ivanka and Donald Jr., that sought to quash the subpoenas.

Rather than complying with the subpoena, Trump's lawyers have told the state that they "could not find any such documents," according to Thursday's filing.

The state's investigation is looking into whether the Trump Organization committed fraud by misrepresenting the value of its assets to lenders and federal authorities.

The Trump Organization has so far produced about 900,000 documents in response to previous subpoenas, but only about 10 came personally from Trump, according to statements from prosecutors reported by Bloomberg News.

Meanwhile, a separate criminal investigation into Trump led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has come under scrutiny in recent weeks following the departure of two of its senior prosecutors.

Amid the uncertainty, Bragg released his own statement on Thursday, insisting that "the investigation continues."

"While the law constrains me from commenting further at this time, I pledge that the Office will publicly state the conclusion of our investigation — whether we conclude our work without bringing charges, or move forward with an indictment," Bragg said.