Judge wants sworn statements on Trump’s use of Submit-it notes

Decide Arthur Engoron said he wished sworn statements describing the Trump Organization's doc retention and destruction policy, as well as a review of 5 bins tied to Trump that were situated in an off-site storage facility. The situations must be met by Might 20, otherwise the choose said he would restore the contempt discovering and apply it retroactively.

Engoron agreed to allow Trump to place the cash in an escrow account till the former President's appeal of the contempt ruling is accomplished.

The choose stopped the clock on the superb as of final Friday when Trump's attorneys submitted extra sworn statements, including one from Trump, about his effort to comply with the subpoena from the New York lawyer general's workplace for data.

New York Legal professional Basic Letitia James stated in a press release that Wednesday's contempt decision sends a transparent message to Trump and his group, which she said has tried to "thwart" the investigation for years, that "no one can evade accountability."

"We will proceed to implement the regulation and seek answers as a part of this investigation," James stated.

The New York lawyer general's office moved to hold Trump in contempt after he did not adjust to a subpoena for paperwork issued in December 2021. The attorney basic's office is investigating the accuracy of financial statements the Trump Group provided to lenders, insurers and for tax benefits.

At a hearing Wednesday, Andrew Amer, an legal professional for the state, homed in on the issue of the Publish-it notes, which Trump was known to make use of to communicate along with his workers, and whether or not they have been turned over.

"To our information, we've not seen any paperwork that have Submit-its on them. And that's one of the odd things concerning the manufacturing up to now given the statements that was a way for Mr. Trump to communicate," Ames said. He argued the dealing with of Publish-it notes needs to be included within the doc retention and destruction policy.

Alina Habba, an lawyer for Trump, said she was instructed by the Trump Organization's basic counsel that all Submit-it notes were already produced to the lawyer basic's office.

"It is a bit comical," she told the choose, while holding up a stack of Publish-its. "I don't have a proper observe on Put up-its, do you?"

The decide said they could begin a new apply in the law: the Post-it affidavit.

The choose said he additionally needed Trump's legal professionals to deal with any efforts to achieve former govt assistants to Trump and whether or not they could possibly be positioned.

This story has been up to date with additional developments and background data.

CNN's Shawna Mizelle contributed to this report.