New York: It was President Donald Trump's first press conference since a bombshell report detailing contact between members of his team and Russian intelligence officials during the election campaign. It also followed the abrupt resignation of his national security adviser Michael Flynn over claims he lied about his own contact with Russia.

But when the President took to the podium in front of a packed room of journalists on Wednesday, alongside the visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he was not pressed about his knowledge or involvement in either of the scandals engulfing his administration.

Instead, he took only two questions from his choice of conservative media outlets.

It was a move that angered many journalists in the White House press corps, who have accused Mr Trump of avoiding scrutiny, and comes as his war with the mainstream media continues to escalate with the publication of more damaging stories that are derailing his first month in office.