Trump forced to pay $110K fine in NY AG Tish James’ investigation

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.

The 76-year-old Republican was held in contempt of court in April and fined $10,000 a day until he answered the AG’s requests for documents in her investigation of the Trump Organization. The order was lifted in May — with Trump owing James’ office a total of $110,000.

Trump appealed the decision, but 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 he 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’s lawyer didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

The AG’s office and Trump have been in a bitter legal battle since 2020 when she filed a prior lawsuit claiming the former president’s camp was stonewalling 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, his kids Ivanka, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. and the family real estate company for “staggering” fraud – including for allegedly overvaluing company assets for loan, insurance and tax benefits.