New York’s attorney general gets nearly 36,000 docs in contempt order

A commercial real estate firm held in contempt of court for failing to hand over records on its appraisals of several Trump Organization properties to New York's attorney general has turned over nearly 36,000 documents, court filings show.

New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron found Cushman Wakefield in contempt last month for not producing documents in state Attorney General Letitia James' civil investigation into the Trump Organization'sTrump Organization's business practices and ordered the firm to pay a $10,000 a-day fine until it complies.

James' office received Cushman's production, which amounts to about 35,867 documents since entry of the court's contempt order, in a letter to the judge late Friday. The letter said that the attorney general's office was joining with Cushman in urging the judge to dissolve the contempt order and hold any contempt purged, without any fines due or owing. Cushman's spokespeople and James didn't respond immediately to requests for comment.

James office is considering whether to file a civil suit against former President Donald Trump and his company over their business practices, and has said in court filings that it has uncovered substantial evidence proving misrepresentations in Mr. Trump's financial statements to banks, insurers, and the Internal Revenue Service. In court filings, the attorney general's office said that there were serious problems with some of Cushman's appraisals for the Trump OrganizationTrump Organization over the years, including 40 Wall Street, his Seven Springs property in New York, and his Los Angeles golf club.

James subpoenaed the company in September and again in February, court documents show. The judge said the real estate firm had partially responded to the subpoenas in March before it refused to provide the remaining records.

A spokesman for the real estate company said last month that the company had gone to extreme lengths to comply with the judge's order.

The spokesperson said that we have produced hundreds of thousands of documents and over 650 appraisals because of the last subpoena issued in February 2022, and we have gone to great expense and effort to quickly identify, collect, review and produce the huge set of documents requested by the OAG.

The judge also found Donald Trump in civil contempt of court earlier this year for failing to comply with a subpoena from the attorney general's office. In June, Engoron lifted the contempt finding after Trump complied with the terms of the subpoena and paid $110,000 in fines.