Donald Trump loses $110k contempt of court appeal

Former President Donald Trump has lost a legal fight to overturn a $110,000 (£90,300) contempt of court fine, which he was ordered to pay to New York Attorney General Letitia James' office.

An appeals court upheld the penalty, which was imposed after he failed to hand over files during an investigation into his business practices.

Mr Trump was fined $10,000 per day for non-compliance with a court order.

Ms James's office is probing whether Mr Trump inflated the value of his assets.

As part of the civil inquiry, which Ms James opened in 2019, Mr Trump was ordered to turn over business documents or explain in detail how he had tried and failed to find the records. When he failed to do so last year, a judge ruled that he was in contempt of court.

The former president eventually both complied with the court order and paid the $110,000 fine - but then appealed in the hope of overturning the penalty.

A New York state appeals court ruled Tuesday that the fine "was not excessive or otherwise improper, under the particular circumstances".

"Once again, the courts have ruled that Donald Trump is not above the law," Ms James, a Democrat, said in a statement on Tuesday.

"For years, he tried to stall and thwart our lawful investigation into his financial dealings, but today's decision sends a clear message that there are consequences for abusing the legal system. We will not be bullied or dissuaded from pursuing justice."

Mr Trump, a Republican, has called the inquiry a politically motivated "witch hunt". Mr Trump's lawyer Alina Habba did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit against Mr Trump, his real estate company, and three of his children, alleges that they overstated the value of assets like property to get better deals from banks and tax breaks.

The attorney general is seeking a $250m fine, and for Mr Trump to be barred from serving as a corporate officer in the state.

The case lodged by New York officials is just one of the former president's many ongoing legal issues, which also include a Manhattan criminal investigation into the Trump Organization's practices, civil lawsuits over the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot, a criminal investigation into allegations he improperly retained classified documents, a defamation case brought by a journalist who says Mr Trump sexually assaulted her in the 1990s, and an investigation into allegations he attempted to interfere with the 2020 election in Georgia.