Transcript for Cohen says he directed attorney to discuss pardon

Also in Washington a new twist in the testimony from president trump's former fixer, Michael Cohen. Revealing overnight that he directed his former attorney to discuss a possible pardon with the president's legal team at odds with Cohen's sworn statement to the house oversight committee last week. Take a look. And I have never asked for nor would I accept a pardon from president trump. Let's bring in Pierre Thomas and, Pierre, that statement pretty definitive. How is Cohen's team squaring the contradiction? Reporter: Here's what they're saying. Number one, Lanny Davis, Cohen's attorney, is arguing it's technically true because he never asked the president directly for a pardon. Second, Davis says that Cohen's public testimony that he never asked for a pardon was intended to reference the period after Cohen left his joint defense agreement with trump's team in July, but you can be sure that Republicans are going to pounce on this, George. No question about that. But Cohen has testified that, in fact, these conversations were going both ways. Reporter: Yeah, sources are telling us a lawyer connected to trump, attorney Rudy Giuliani, by the name of Robert Costello had multiple contacts with him after the raid on his offices. Investigators have been looking into whether they were intended to influence or dangle a pardon for Cohen. It's unclear prosecutors regard the contacts as illegal or improper. Costello tells ABC news the story is not accurate and Giuliani says any time a lawyer raised a possible pardon it was squelched immediately. On another front Paul manafort going to be sentenced today for the first time. Reporter: After years of investigation, multiple trials and convictions, Paul manafort today will learn how long he'll be in prison and it may not be a pretty picture. The sentencing guidelines state manafort faces up to 19 to 25 years in prison in connection with these many counts including bank and tax fraud. He was convicted in a federal court in Alexandria. He is 69 years old and you can do the math asking for leniency but prosecutors say he shouldn't get any. We'll be watching the judge thanks very much.

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