Judge rejects Trump's sworn statement he does not have subpoenaed tax documents

A New York State judge has rejected a sworn statement offered by former president Donald Trump claiming he does not possess documents the New York Attorney General's office has subpoenaed as part of its long-running probe into whether his eponymous real estate company committed fraud by undervaluing properties for tax purposes.

On Monday, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Mr Trump to pay a $10,000 per day fine after finding he was in contempt of court for not turning over documents sought by Attorney General Letitia James as part of the civil investigation, which is separate from the criminal probe that has resulted in the Trump Organization and its longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, facing criminal charges.

Two days later, Mr Trump filed a sworn statement stating that searches for the documents had been conducted in an attempt to "purge" the contempt and avoid the $10,000 per day fine, but Judge Engoron rejected the filing in a two-page order, calling Mr Trump's declaration "completely devoid of any useful detail".