'Fake news': Trump denies New York Times report on his tax returns

President Trump denied a report that said he paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and his first year in office.

The New York Times published a report on Trump's financial information, which he has long kept out of public view, about half an hour before the president held a news conference in the White House on Sunday. The report also comes two days before the first presidential debate against Joe Biden and 37 days ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

Asked to respond to the New York Times's reporting, Trump said the report about years of tax avoidance was not accurate, and he would release his tax returns once they are no longer under audit.

"That is fake news. That is totally fake news," Trump said.

"Actually, I pay taxes. You will see that as soon as my tax returns, it's under audit," he added later. "It's been under audit for a long time. The IRS does not treat me well. They treat me like the Tea Party, like they treated the Tea Party. And they don't treat me well. They treat me very badly."

The New York Times report also said Trump paid no federal taxes in 10 of the last 15 years "largely because he reported losing much more money than he made." A lawyer for the Trump Organization, Alan Garten, told the outlet that "most, if not all, of the facts appear to be inaccurate" and claimed the president "has paid tens of millions of dollars in personal taxes to the federal government, including paying millions in personal taxes since announcing his candidacy in 2015."

The New York Times said Garten asked for the documents on which the report was based, but the outlet said it declined in order to protect its sources.

Trump said he has paid state and local taxes over the years, but he declined to give specific details.