President Donald Trump's campaign filed a defamation claim against The New York Times Wednesday, arguing that a March 2019 opinion piece published false and malicious statements about a deal between the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and Russia.

In the piece, former New York Times executive editor Max Frankel wrote that the 2016 Trump campaign had an "obvious bargain" with Russian leaders who opposed the election of Hillary Clinton.

Attorney Charles Harder, of the Los Angeles-based firm Harder LLP, filed the suit in New York County Supreme Court and asked for millions of dollars in damages.

He argued that the Times intentionally published Frankel's piece before the public release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian involvement in the 2016 election because the Times knew the report would "exonerate" the Trump campaign.

Frankel's piece was published after Mueller delivered his report to the Department of Justice but before the report was released to the public.

"By publishing the Defamatory Article in March 2019, The Times sought to damage the Campaign before the Mueller Report would be released debunking the conspiracy claims," Harder wrote.

The Times acted maliciously and with reckless disregard for the truth, Harder wrote.

"It is not entirely surprising that The Times would publish such a blatant false attack against the Campaign," Harder wrote. "There is extensive evidence that The Times is extremely biased against the Campaign, and against Republicans in general."

In a statement, a New York Times representative emphasized that the piece was published in the Times' opinion section.

"The Trump Campaign has turned to the courts to try to punish an opinion writer for having an opinion they find unacceptable," the statement said. "Fortunately, the law protects the right of Americans to express their judgments and conclusions, especially about events of public importance. We look forward to vindicating that right in this case."

In a statement, Jenna Ellis, a senior legal adviser to the Trump campaign, said the statements in the column "were and are 100 percent false and defamatory."

"The complaint alleges The Times was aware of the falsity at the time it published them, but did so for the intentional purpose of hurting the campaign, while misleading its own readers in the process," Ellis said.

Wednesday's filing is the latest legal matter involving Trump in the New York courts. He has been sued for defamation in state court by at least two women who accused him of unwanted sexual contact—accusations Trump has forcefully denied—and a lawsuit over a New York grand jury's access to his tax returns will soon be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.

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