Defiant Trump fined for hubristic denial of legal requests

Despite no longer being in the highest office, former President Donald Trump continues to find ways to act as though he is above the law. In an ongoing investigation of his administration, New York Judge Arthur F. Engoron held Trump in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena from the office of Letitia James, the state attorney general.

 “Mr. Trump: I know you take your business seriously, and I take mine seriously,” James said.

James had requested records about Trump’s family business resulting in Trump being fined $10,000 dollars a day until he complied. The former president has resorted to his only defense mechanism, deciding that the law and those who enforce it are driven by an arbitrary personal and political motive. Trump has denied wrongdoing and lashed out at James, calling her racist and accusing her of carrying out a politically driven witch-hunt against him when she is an African American herself.

“Happy Easter to failed gubernatorial candidate and racist Attorney General Letitia James. May she remain healthy despite the fact that she will continue to drive business out of New York while at the same time keeping crime, death, and destruction in New York,” Trump said. 

This investigation has been going on for three years and James said that the investigation will likely result in a lawsuit. In response to the subpoena, Trump’s lawyers claimed they conducted a thorough search and did not find the documents, but they did not provide information on how the search was conducted.

Trump’s inability to disclose information to the court has shown that he has more to lose if he complies with the subpoena, as opposed to paying a fine. For a billionaire like Trump a $10,000 daily fine is close to nothing and is not worth complying with. The crime would give the public access to the truth and the cover-up would take that away. Nonetheless, in terms of the justice system, the cover-up proves to be the more dangerous of the two. It threatens the investigation and compromises any possible punishment for the crime. The ability to bypass the law brings to question the credibility of the courts.

Trump’s attempt to act above the law has, once again, shown to be outdated and unoriginal. Moreover, it appears that Trump was granted a degree of leniency by Engoron disproportionate to the severity of his crimes. Nevertheless, it serves as a reminder that regardless of one’s political power, no one should have the ability to obstruct an investigation.

By Fareeha Ahmad

Oshkosh West Index Volume 118 Issue VIII

May 25th, 2022