Trump Attorney Reacts To Contempt Ruling

A judge ruled that former President Donald J. Trump will be held in contempt on Monday after failing to comply to a subpoena issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James, D-N.Y.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arther Engoron ruled in favor of James, saying that there was no evidence that Trump conducted a "proper and thorough search" for items relevant to the subpoena, and that the evidence provided by Trump's attorney was "woefully insufficient."

As a result, Trump, with a net worth of $3 billion, will be fined $10,000 "for every day that he violated the court’s order to produce these documents." No criminal charges have been filed against Trump himself.

Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, said she intend to appeal the ruling, claiming that all relevant material was handed over months ago and "the only issue raised by the attorney general at today's hearing was an affidavit submitted which copied the form mandated by" James.

"This does not even come close to meeting the standard on a motion for contempt," Habba responded, adding that "Donald Trump does not believe he is above the law." Habba also called the civil case a "political crusade."

The investigation has been ongoing for over two years after former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen testified before Congress that his former client was lying about the value of certain assets, inflating or deflating their value for tax benefits, loans, or insurance coverage.

For a long time, Trump, 75, has complained that James' investigation into the Trump Organization was a witch hunt because she is a Democrat.

"Donald Trump has tried to evade the law and stop our lawful investigation into him and his company’s financial dealings. Today’s ruling makes clear: No one is above the law," James, 63, said of the ruling in a press release.

Trump and his legal team have used various methods to delay the civil case out of New York State by AG James. However, the case is closing in on Trump and largely depends on the results of the inevitable appeal from his legal team.