New York attorney general Letitia James will formally request that a judge fine former president Donald Trump $10,000 for each that he flouts a subpoena into a tax probe by her office.

Ms James’s office filed a memorandium of law earlier this month on it, saying that the sum was “ sufficient to coerce his compliance” with a court order put in place in February. This comes after Judge Arthur Engoron said in a ruling that the former president and his children Don Jr and Ivanka needed to testify in an investigation from the attorney general’s office.

Ms James’s office is investigating whether the Trump Organisation misstated the value of certain assets on financial statements, loan applications and tax submissions, Law & Crime’s Adam Klasfeld reported.

Mr Engoron, a judge for the Supreme Court for the 1st Judicial District of New York, questioned why it was taking so long. Assistant attorney general Kevin C Wallace said a big reason was the lack of cooperation from the Trump organisation and described the company as a “closely held, family company.”

Mr Wallace also stated that despite the case focusing on a high-profile individual, the probe never went out of line.

“We’ve tried to be as thorough and complete as possible,” he said. “We’ve tried to be fair.”

But Mr Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba disputed that characterisation.

“It is truly a fishing expedition,” she said and said that the Trump organisation is “right on schedule” with the probe.

“This is a political crusade,” she said and responded to Mr Engoron’s question of when it ends by saying, “We wonder the same thing.”

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