Trump attacks after the announcement of a suspicious transaction by Deutsche Bank

President Donald Trump on Monday criticized the New York Times, disputing the newspaper's comments about its relations with Deutsche Bank and launching into a wider media critique.

The president appeared to be reacting to a report by the Times that German bank experts in the fight against money laundering had noticed suspicious activity in the accounts of Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner in 2016 and 2017. According to the Times, bank executives blocked employees reporting suspicious transactions to the US Treasury and a former employee said to have been fired for expressing concerns about the bank's scrutiny of certain customers.

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In a series of tweets on Monday, the president denied the newspaper's description of his relationship with the German lender, who gave billions to Trump and Kushner companies over the years, showing a willingness to work with Trump despite his turbulent financial history in the 1980s and 90s.

"The New York Times Failing (he will die when I leave my position in 6 years), and other members of Fake News Media, continue to write false stories about the fact that I have not used a lot from banks because they did not want to do business with me, "wrote Trump, throwing a multitude of messages." FALSE! It's because I did not need money. Very old fashioned, but true. When you do not need or want money, you do not need or want banks. Banks have always been at my disposal, they want to make money. "

Trump also appeared to criticize reports from a year ago that cast doubt on his transition, over the past decade or so, using cash for real estate purchases, a break with the norms of corporate finance. industry.

"Now, the big new story is that Trump has earned a lot of money and is buying everything for money, he does not need banks," he said in a tweet. next, before renting the service provided by Deutsche Bank. "But where did he get all this money? Is it Russia? No, I've built a big company and I do not need banks, but if I did, they would be there … and DeutscheBank was very good and very professional, and if for some reason I did not like them, would have gone elsewhere … there was always a lot of money around and the banks to choose from. They would be very happy to take my money. "

"Fake Media only says that to denigrate," Trump said, objecting to the media's reliance on anonymous sources, even though members of his own administration routinely ask not to be quoted. namely.

David Enrich, who wrote the Times story, rejected Trump's denial.

"That's not true, I spent a lot of time reviewing this, and @DeutscheBank was the only bank willing to lend to @realDonaldTrump for 20 years due to its type of flaws and thirst growth in the United States, "he wrote in a tweet.

A Times spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

Trump's story with Deutsche Bank has become a hot topic of debate as congressional Democrats fight the White House for the publication of its financial statements and tax returns. Last month, Trump and his family sued Deutsche Bank and Capital One for preventing them from filing these documents in response to Congressional summonses.

On Monday, Trump inflamed media outlets that published damaging articles about the president, saying "traditional media have never been as corrupt and disturbed as today." He reiterated his assertion that the press and congressional Democrats would be ignoring the "real Russian hoax", which he described as "all crimes committed by Crooked Hillary and the false investigation of Russia".