In an attempt to end the civil contempt and daily fine of $10,000 per day imposed on him earlier this week by a New York state Judge, former President Donald Trump filed a sworn affidavit with the court on Friday, stating that he doesn’t have any documents sought by the New York attorney general. But the judge didn’t buy Trump’s claim and swiftly rejected his motion to purge the contempt.
“To the best of my knowledge, (i) I do not have any of the documents requested in the subpoena dated December 1, 2021 in my personal possession,” Trump wrote in the sworn statement, signed April 27.
But the judge found Trump’s sworn statement unsatisfactory and “completely devoid of any useful detail,” according to CNN.
“Mr. Trump’s personal affidavit is completely devoid of any useful detail,” New York state Judge Arthur Engoron wrote in his decision. “Notably, it fails to state where he kept his files, how his files were stored in the regular course of business, who had access to such files, what, if any, the retention policy was for such files, and, importantly, where he believes such files are currently located,” the judge added.
The judge previously said Trump could end the contempt if he complied with the subpoena or him or his attorneys detailed their efforts to search for documents sought by the subpoena. He called Trump’s lawyer’s earlier response “boilerplate.”
Read it on CNN.
