A judge lifted the contempt order against Trump provided that he complies with conditions related to documents and pays $110,000 in contempt fines by May 20.
The judge said all of the conditions — including providing a description of the Trump Organization’s document retention and destruction policy and reviewing the remaining five of 17 boxes tied to Trump and located in on off-site storage facility — must be completed by May 20.
Judge Arthur Engoron also agreed to have Trump place the fine in an escrow account until Trump’s appeal of the contempt ruling is completed.
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But he told Trump’s attorney: “I want the fine paid. That fine is now $110,000.”
If Trump fails to comply, the contempt order will be reinstated and he will be fined $10,000 a day.
Trump’s lawyers got the contempt order temporarily lifted by providing more information about the Trump Organization handles and destroys documents, which is a fairly amazing development given the decades worth of reports about the Trump Organization having used shady document destruction practices for decades as a way to make civil lawsuits disappear.
Trump isn’t being let off the hook easily in New York, and one suspects that Attorney General Letitia James will make the contempt fine look like change under the couch cushions by the time her investigation into the Trump Organization concludes.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
