Donald Trump talks like a mob boss, in generalities. But his minions know exactly what he wants given that they learned his speak-no-evil code long ago. His former executive assistant Rhona Graff suggested that the ex-president’s sworn affidavit “cast doubt on the completeness of [it].”
New York Attorney General (AG) Letitia James held him in contempt on April 25 given he said he “had no [financial] documents.” The AG had been trying to obtain his records and data from the “financing of several properties.”
The aforementioned affidavit included Trump’s “practice” as CBS News reported:
‘[I]t has been my customary practice to delegate document handling and retention responsibilities to my executive assistants.’
A month later, Graff gave her deposition. She had been with him for over 20 years and said:
‘[The statement was] very general. It doesn’t mean (executive assistants) handled every document and maintained everything that came out of his office.’
Goff claimed that when a folder arrived for him, she did not look inside of it:
‘[The former assistant noted the ex-president] had an inbox and an outbox. maybe on the outside would have said to return to so and so, whoever gave it to him.’
In her deposition, she said that she told “whichever person or department he directed the document to, each of whom had their own retention and destruction practices.”
She continued:
‘The accounting department had things relevant to [Trump] there, the hotel department may have had records relevant to him there, the golf division may have had records relevant to him, the legal department. I mean, they retained their own records of communications with him. I did not.’
James fined him $10,000 per day until he produced his financial records. Hs lawyers filed a formal statement detailing how they were looking for the subpoenaed documents her office requested. The fines paused, but a judge can reinstate them at any time
Her attorneys first filed explanations of their attempts to search for subpoenaed documents. And if he does not clear the contempt charge, the judge can reinstate the fine retroactive to May 7 and forward from there.
The head of the Southern District of New York (SDNY), Attorney General Cyrus Vance, Jr. had made a deal with James. He would take the criminal side of the investigation into Trump, and she would take the civilian side, according to Reuters. Unfortunately, when Vance left for private practice, the man who replaced him dropped the case like a hot rock. Two of the agency’s top attorneys resigned in protest.
James asked the judge to give Trump through June 13 to come up with the new documents:
‘[She wanted] at a minimum the legal, accounting, hotel, and golf club departments.’
Although the special grand jury expired recently, James assigned two of her attorneys to remain on the job of investigating Trump and company in a criminal investigation.
The Trump Company CFO Allen Weisselberg will go to court on June 13 regarding a “criminal fraud and tax evasion charge.”
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
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