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

Choose Arthur Engoron stated he needed sworn statements describing the Trump Group's document retention and destruction coverage, in addition to a assessment of 5 boxes tied to Trump that were located in an off-site storage facility. The situations must be met by May 20, otherwise the judge mentioned he would restore the contempt finding and apply it retroactively.

Engoron agreed to permit Trump to position the money in an escrow account until the previous President's attraction of the contempt ruling is accomplished.

The decide stopped the clock on the high-quality 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 common's workplace for information.

New York Lawyer Basic Letitia James stated in a press release that Wednesday's contempt choice sends a clear message to Trump and his organization, which she said has tried to "thwart" the investigation for years, that "nobody can evade accountability."

"We will continue to implement the legislation and seek answers as a part of this investigation," James mentioned.

The New York attorney basic's office moved to hold Trump in contempt after he failed to adjust to a subpoena for documents issued in December 2021. The attorney normal's workplace is investigating the accuracy of monetary statements the Trump Group supplied 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 Submit-it notes, which Trump was known to make use of to communicate with his staff, and whether or not they have been turned over.

"To our knowledge, we have not seen any documents which have Submit-its on them. And that is one of the odd issues about the manufacturing so far given the statements that was a way for Mr. Trump to communicate," Ames said. He argued the handling of Post-it notes ought to be included in the doc retention and destruction policy.

Alina Habba, an lawyer for Trump, said she was advised by the Trump Organization's normal counsel that each one Publish-it notes have been already produced to the legal professional basic's office.

"It is slightly comical," she informed the decide, whereas holding up a stack of Submit-its. "I don't have a formal observe on Submit-its, do you?"

The choose mentioned they might begin a brand new follow in the regulation: the Publish-it affidavit.

The judge stated he additionally wanted Trump's legal professionals to deal with any efforts to achieve former government assistants to Trump and whether they could be situated.

This story has been updated with extra developments and background data.

CNN's Shawna Mizelle contributed to this report.