CNN analyst: New York judge could send Trump to jail – but only under 'extreme' circumstances
A New York state judge could send former President Donald Trump to jail if he refuses to comply with an investigation of the Trump Organization, legal analyst Elie Honig said Monday on CNN.
Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in favor of New York state attorney general Letitia James, who is pursuing a civil probe into the ex-president, and ordered Trump to pay $10,000 every day that he continues to defy the court's order.
"He will be billed $10,000 a day starting from whenever this order officially issues, could be today, could be tomorrow," Honig said. "Trump is going to try to appeal this. If he loses, he gets billed for all of that and he has to keep paying until he either complies or shows the judge, 'I looked everywhere, and I have nothing."
"Or he could go to jail," CNN host Alisyn Camerota interjected.
"In a very extreme circumstance -- he can't just blow this off, he can't just say I refuse to pay," Honig said. "In a very extreme circumstance, yes, a judge can send him to prison."
In January, James said her investigation had uncovered evidence suggesting the fraudulent valuing of multiple assets and misrepresentation of those values for economic benefit.
Among the assets listed was Trump's penthouse in Manhattan's Trump Tower, which was claimed to be three times bigger in size than it actually was, overestimating its value by $200 million.
James can sue the Trump Organization for damages over any alleged financial misconduct but cannot file criminal charges.
The Trumps have claimed that James, who was elected to her position and is a member of the Democratic Party, is running a politically motivated probe.
“Today, justice prevailed,” said James said in a statement. “For years, Donald Trump has tried to evade the law and stop our lawful investigation into him and his company’s financial dealings. Today’s ruling makes clear: No one is above the law.”
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With additional reporting via AFP