President Donald Trump looks out at reporters in the Rose Garden as he speaks after a meeting with U.S. Congressional leaders about the government shutdown at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 4, 2019.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he never spoke to his longtime advisor Roger Stone about WikiLeaks and stolen Democratic emails posted by the site, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

Stone was arrested last week on multiple charges that included lying to Congress about his communications with Trump campaign officials regarding hacked emails that were published on WikiLeaks during the 2016 presidential election. Stone has pleaded not guilty to those charges. The arrest was a major development in special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation of Russian meddling in that election.

When asked by the Times if he ever spoke to Stone about WikiLeaks, the president answered: "No, I didn't. I never did." He also denied directing anyone to talk to Stone about WikiLeaks.