Donald Trump's legal team has asked to void a contempt ruling and mounting fines in relation to a civil investigation in New York into his business dealings.
A court filing on Friday laid out the effort made by the former President's lawyers to produce documents sought by New York Attorney General Letitia James' office.
James is investigating whether Trump misstated the value of his assets on his financial statements going back more than a decade.
Trump has failed to comply with the subpoena and State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron has previously ruled the billionaire would be fined $10,000 every day until he did so.
During the hearing Engoron directly addressed Trump, who was not in court, adding: "I know you take your business seriously and I take mine seriously."
The former president previously called James, who is Black, "racist" and added the courts were "biased." Trump has sued James in federal court in hopes it would end her investigation and remove her from office.
In the recent court filing Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, said the responses to the subpoena were correct and that no information had been withheld.
The filing stated that Habba carried out searches of Trump's residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, and of his offices at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, but was unable to find other documents which had not yet been produced.
Habba previously called the court ruling, as well as the fine "unconscionable and indefensible."
A separate sworn affidavit said Trump denied there were any other relevant documents that hadn't already been produced.
Trump added he owns two cell phones, one being an iPhone for personal use that he submitted to be searched in March as part of the subpoena. It was again submitted in May.
A second phone was also given which is only used to post messages on Trump's Truth Social, which he created after being banned from Facebook, Twitter and other online platforms.
Newsweek has contacted Habba for comment.
Several members of Trump's inner circle are facing contempt claims for refusing to comply with subpoenas from the House committee investigating the riot at the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
Among them is former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, who was indicted on contempt charges for failing to comply with the panel's congressional subpoena.
He was indicted by the Department of Justice in November 2021 on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Anders Anglesey is a U.S. News Reporter based in London, U.K., covering crime, politics, online extremism and trending stories. Anders ... Read more
