President Donald Trump on Friday morning dismissed reports that he sought to fire special counsel Robert Mueller over the summer, calling the report in the New York Times “fake news.”

“Fake news, fake news,” Trump told reporters at the Davos World Economic Forum early Friday morning. “Typical New York Times. Fake stories.”

The New York Times reported Thursday night that Trump wanted to fire Mueller in the summer of 2017 and had drawn up a list of conflicts of interest he saw that should keep Mueller from leading the Russia probe. Trump backed away from that plan when White House counsel Don McGahn threatened to quit over the move, per the New York Times.

Several other outlets, including Fox News, the Washington Post, and Politico, followed up with confirmation of the New York Times’ reporting.

Trump attorney Ty Cobb declined to comment to the New York Times about its report that Trump sought to fire Mueller.

The revelation that Trump wanted to fire Mueller follows several reports this week indicating that the special counsel’s investigation into potential obstruction of justice is heating up.