'Hollow and untrue': Fraud case judge slams Trump for 'under oath' testimony

New York Judge Arthur Engoron blasted former President Donald Trump's sworn testimony as dubious in a new order released on Thursday, reported ABC News.

The order comes after Trump was fined $10,000 for violating a gag order prohibiting him from attacking court staff — which he had tried to get out of by claiming that attacks Engoron believed to be directed at his court clerk were actually targeting Trump's ex-attorney Michael Cohen, who was testifying against the former president that day.

"I then conducted a brief hearing, during which Donald Trump testified, under oath, that he was referring to Michael Cohen. However, as the trier of fact, I find this testimony rings hollow and untrue," said Engoron in the new order.

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

The problem, Engoron wrote, is that Trump's specific attack — "a person who's very partisan sitting alongside him, perhaps even more partisan than he is" — isn't typically the way Trump describes Cohen. "Using imprecise language as an excuse to create plausible ambiguity about whether defendant violated this Court's unequivocal gag order is not a defense," he wrote. "The subject of Donald Trump's public statement to the press was unmistakably clear."

The trial turns on New York Attorney General Letitia James' allegation that Trump and his two adult sons have systematically falsified their business holdings, including price and square footage, to get more favorable loan and tax arrangements. She is seeking $250 million in fines and the dissolution of the Trump Organization.

Engoron has already partially ruled for James in summary judgment on the merits, and the trial is currently working to assess damages.