Luigi Mangione's Lawyers Discredit Report of Guilty Plea Deal Talks

4:05 PM PT -- Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ there have been no plea bargain negotiations between prosecutors and the defense team.

Luigi Mangione may be mulling over a guilty plea, because a new report states his lawyers have discussed a deal with prosecutors ... but Luigi's team calls the report an intentional attempt to prejudice their client.

According to ABC News ... the alleged murderer's legal team and federal prosecutors have discussed a possible plea ahead of a court hearing scheduled for Monday.

Sources told the outlet it's unclear how close the two sides got to getting a deal done, but they discussed it.

Mangione's lead attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo isn't buying ABC's report, though, saying ... "This information attributed to 'anonymous sources' is part of a troubling, deliberate pattern by prosecutors and law enforcement to prejudice Luigi, manipulate public opinion, and violate his constitutional right to a fair trial and impartial jury."

She added, "Every defendant in America is presumed innocent until proven guilty, including Luigi, who, unlike any other defendant, has to fight the same charges twice."

As you know ... Mangione has been charged with murder at the state level -- while he's facing interstate stalking charges at the federal level in connection to the shooting death of former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Mangione's defense initially claimed he would argue an extreme emotional distress defense ... then walked that back just a day later -- though sources told us they plan to bring it up again later.