New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said a recent New York Times story indicating Donald Trump could have legally avoided paying federal income taxes for nearly two decades is actually a good report for the Republican presidential nominee.

On Saturday the Times published a piece including three pages from Trump’s 1995 income tax documents. The story said that Trump “declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years.”

“This is actually a very, very good story for Donald Trump,” Christie, who’s head of Trump’s transition team, told host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.”

Wallace then asked, “you’re saying it’s a good story for Donald Trump that he failed to pay any federal income taxes… for years, that’s a good story?”

Christie disputed Wallace’s question, saying it’s not known if Trump didn’t pay federal income taxes.

“The New York Times does not have any information in that story that says Mr. Trump did not pay taxes,” he said. “All they did was quote the law, which says if you have that kind of loss, you can use that kind of loss to offset income for up to 18 years.”

The Trump campaign issued a statement Saturday night accusing the publication of obtaining Trump’s tax records illegally. (RELATED: Trump Campaign: New York Times Illegally Obtained Tax Records)

“The only news here is that the more than 20-year-old alleged tax document was illegally obtained, a further demonstration that the New York Times, like establishment media in general, is an extension of the Clinton campaign, the Democratic Party and their global special interests,” the statement said.

Christie also said the campaign shouldn’t apologize for following the law, and that Trump take credit for saying the tax code should be changed.

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