US President Donald Trump on Friday claimed that his former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen last year "directly asked me for a pardon," CNBC reported.

But Cohen, who recently testified that he had "never" sought a pardon from Trump, said the presidents' claim was "just another set of lies."

The exchange was just the latest in a series of back-and-forth between the Trump and Cohen camps over the question of if and when Cohen had actively sought a presidential pardon for the crimes that he admitted to last year.

"Bad lawyer and fraudster Michael Cohen said under sworn testimony that he never asked for a Pardon. His lawyers totally contradicted him," Trump tweeted, referencing Cohen's testimony last week claiming that he had not and would not seek a pardon from his ex-boss for his crimes.

"He lied! Additionally, he directly asked me for a pardon. I said NO. He lied again! He also badly wanted to work at the White House. He lied!"