Donald Trump wanted his attorney general William Barr to hold a press conference saying a call he made to the Ukrainian president broke no laws, multiple US media outlets have reported.

The US president reportedly pushed the suggestion around Sept 25, the day after the Democrats announced their impeachment inquiry into the Ukraine scandal, but Mr Barr ultimately declined to take up the request.

The story, first reported by The Washington Post, reveals a point of difference between Mr Barr - previously seen as a loyal lieutenant to Mr Trump - and the White House over a saga that threatens the Trump presidency.

However Mr Trump was quick to deny the report in vehement terms, attacking the “lowlife” reporters who broke the story and calling the claims “pure fiction”. “We both deny this story, which they knew before they wrote it,” Mr Trump said of himself and Mr Barr.

A senior US administration official told The Washington Post: "The Department of Justice did in fact release a statement about the call, and the claim that it resulted in tension because it wasn’t a news conference is completely false."

In a separate blow on Thursday Mr Trump was ordered by a New York judge to pay $2 million for using his former charity to further his political and business interests. Mr Trump had been accused in the legal challenge of using funds from the Trump Foundation to settle lawsuits, promote his hotels and for personal spending. The foundation was closed in December.