New York court clears Donald Trump of contempt charges

Donald Trump is no longer charged with contempt of court in New York. After reviewing additional documents, Judge Arthur Engoron concluded that the 45th president of the United States had complied with the requirements to provide the necessary materials for the case. Earlier, Trump was forced to pay a fine of $110,000 for contempt of court. This amount will be held in a special account until the end of the trial.

In early April, state Attorney General Letitia James announced her intention to prosecute Trump in a case involving alleged financial fraud at the Trump Organization, which he owns. The New York attorney general complained that Trump, despite the prosecutor’s request and a court order, refused to provide documents requested from him as part of the ongoing investigation. The court then ordered Trump to pay $10,000 daily for contempt of court.

In July 2021, the Trump Organization and personally its CFO Allen Weisselberg were charged with tax evasion, involvement in fraud, embezzlement and forgery. Investigators have also been trying for a long time to get Weisselberg to testify that could be used against Trump. The former president has not yet been charged.

Trump’s company is being investigated by the state attorney general as well as New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who succeeded Cyrus Vance, under whom the proceedings began. The company was suspected, among other things, of artificially inflating the value of its assets in order to obtain loans. The proceedings were launched after former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen made allegations that the Trump Organization resorted to the practice. The former president denies the allegations and calls the New York authorities’ investigation “the greatest witch hunt” initiated by Democrats against him and his supporters.