New York Judge holds Donald Trump in contempt of court
A New York Judge has ruled today that Donald Trump is in contempt of court, and is hitting Trump with $10,000 daily fines until he cooperates with New York AG probe into Trump Organization.
If Trump now cooperates by turning over the required evidence, it’ll be used to dismantle the Trump Organization, and it could be used as a basis for the AG bringing criminal charges. It’s why Trump fought against this so hard.
If Trump fails to cooperate, he’s looking at massive fines at a time when he comes off as particularly cash-poor. And if Trump keeps dragging his heels, the judge can sharply increase the fines, or even have Trump hauled in; so no, Trump can’t just pay up and “get away with it.”
“Why didn’t the courts do this sooner?” Because the courts move slowly even when one side is a clear winner. Trump has been trying to milk this to delay the inevitable, but he was always going exhaust his stall tactics.
“When do the fines begin?” Not sure, but likely ASAP. Being held in contempt of court means you’ve really pissed the judge off – and pissed off judges don’t mess around.
“But the New York AG’s probe is just a civil one!” That’s the point. It’s why the judge ordered Trump to turn over evidence against his own company. In criminal probes, you can’t be forced to provide evidence against yourself. But the civil probe can become a criminal one, and for awhile it’s felt like this is where the New York AG is really headed with this. The Trumps have even argued in court that they fear the AG will use any evidence they turn over as a basis for criminal charges.
The real upshot is this: even if Trump just eats the fines instead of cooperating, Tish James can use the fact that he’s been held in contempt of court as a basis for concluding that the Trump Organization is a criminal enterprise and dismantling it. If James had ruled against the Trump Organization on the basis that Trump refused to cooperate, he could have appealed and claimed he wasn’t legally required to cooperate anyway. But now that she’s gotten him held on contempt, that appeal angle no longer exists. Sometimes, before you can come out swinging, you first have to tie your opponent’s hands behind his back.
