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The Trump Organization was held in criminal contempt by a Manhattan judge for failing to comply with multiple grand jury subpoenas dating back to October of 2020 and three court orders requiring them to produce requested evidence prior to their recent trial for tax fraud.
The New York Times reported that the judge
Juan Merchan ordered the entities of the family business of the former president pay $4, 11 in fines for “willfully disobeying four grand jury subpoenas” and three court orders, according to the ruling, which was unsealed Tuesday.
“Despite clear warnings, the company missed the deadline , never moved to quash the subpoenas and never sought court intervention. Some summonses were ignored in to a great extent and others were completely ignored,” Merchan wrote in the order dated December 8, 2020.
The lawyers for the companies argued at the time that failed to comply with the subpoenas due to the “unreasonably short timeframe, given the scope and breadth of the claims”, according to the order.
Last week
a jury convicted Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corp. on all counts related to the Trump Org schemes.
The Trump Organization, as well as its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, were indicted in 2020 of tax-related crimes, including paying executives with “off the books” compensation such as apartments and luxury cars. Trump called the investigation a “witch hunt.”
It is unclear if the companies have already paid the fines imposed a year ago, aside from penalties that could amount to $1.6 million in connection with the guilty verdict against the two Trump Org. companies.
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