Donald Trump turns on media again and insists ‘I had a GREAT meeting with Putin’

The US President fired off another Twitter barrage at the media over the Helsinki summit with the Russian leader, claiming the press’s criticism was “bad for our country”.

Mr Trump was hit by a wave of condemnation following last week’s talks, when he appeared to dismiss his own intelligence services’ claims that Russia interfered in the 2016 US presidential election.

Standing next to Mr Putin, the US leader said he didn’t “see any reason why” Moscow would be behind the election meddling, although later claimed he had meant to say “wouldn’t”.

On Sunday, Trump tweeted: “I had a GREAT meeting with Putin and the Fake News used every bit of their energy to try and disparage it. 

“So bad for our country!”

Despite a wave of anger from Republicans and Democrats following the Helsinki summit, Mr Trump has now invited Mr Putin to the White House for further talks this year.

His announcement caught Director Of National Intelligence Dan Coats off guard when he was told the news during a live TV interview.

John Brennan, the former CIA director, labelled Mr Trump ’s Helsinki remarks as “nothing short of treasonous.”

He tweeted: “Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of ‘high crimes & misdemeanours.

“It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you?”

On Friday, Mr Trump’s political woes deepened when it was revealed his former lawyer Michael Cohen allegedly secretly recorded conversations of them discussing paying off a former Playboy model Mr Trump allegedly had an affair with.

Karen McDougal claims she had a nine-month relationship with Mr Trump in 2006, with Cohen’s recordings made two months before the 2016 US election.

The audio recordig was seized with dozens of others in an FBI raid on the lawyer’s New York office.

The recordings may show that Mr Trump broke campaign finance laws, but he has denied any wrongdoing, claiming Mr Cohen’s recordings could be illegal.

The President tweeted: “Inconceivable that the government would break into a lawyer’s office (early in the morning) – almost unheard of. Even more inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client – totally unheard of & perhaps illegal.

“The good news is that your favourite President did nothing wrong.”