Scott Morrison has attempted to downplay fresh reports Malcolm Turnbull first offered him the Treasury position in February before an unsuccessful spill motion which Mr Turnbull did not end up contesting.
Invoking pop star Taylor Swift, Mr Morrison said the revelations were "old news" and urged journalists to "shake it off".
Fairfax Media has reported that Mr Turnbull canvassed whether Mr Morrison would be interested in the Treasury position during a phone call on the Sunday before the failed spill motion. The Liberal party's deputy leader Julie Bishop listened in on the phone call, which was held on speakerphone on both ends but did not contribute.
Mr Morrison, who was Social Services Minister at the time, is said to have remained non-committal. He was subsequently named Treasurer in Mr Turnbull's cabinet reshuffle after the September coup.
Mr Morrison on Monday said the revelations were "old news" that had been "regurgitated again".
And the Treasurer ridiculed reporters for observing that his career advancement matched the reported contents of his conversation with Mr Turnbull in February.
"I will leave you to go through the tin foil hat conspiracies but frankly it is embarrassing to put those sorts of questions and make those connections," he said.
"What happened in February and what happened later in the year were completely different issues and you should shake it off."
Earlier Mr Morrison told Sky News while the conversation took place, no formal offer was made.
"I do recollect talking to Malcolm Turnbull," Mr Morrison said.
"It was a difficult time and we had a backbench-initiated spill motion.
"Nothing came of it; there was no deal, no offers."
The revelation is significant because it further embroils Mr Morrison and Ms Bishop in the plotting against Mr Abbott. Liberal sources say the pair have suffered the most internal damage in the fall-out from the September coup, in contrast to Mr Turnbull whose public popularity is being seized upon as the pay-off of his elevation to the leadership.
Both Mr Morrison and Ms Bishop have been targeted by the Liberal party's conservative base who feel the pair let down Mr Abbott and betrayed his leadership.
Previous revelations that Ms Bishop's chief of staff Murray Hansen attended a meeting held at the home of chief plotter Peter Hendy before the successful coup in September sparked internal calls for Ms Bishop to spell out her actions as deputy during the lead-up to the leadership change.
Ms Bishop defended her actions claiming her chief of staff attended the meeting of plotters on a fact-finding mission and not as a participant.
