Trump trial: Cohen faces Trump team grilling over past lies, recollections

When Michael Cohen's cross-examination resumed following the mid-morning break, defense attorney Todd Blanche established that Cohen has not received a cooperation agreement with any prosecutor's office -- not the Southern District of New York, not special counsel Robert Mueller, not the Manhattan DA.

"You were meeting with them and providing information?" Blanche asked Cohen.

"Correct," Cohen said.

"But ultimately that did not result in a cooperation agreement?" Blanche asked.

"That's correct," Cohen answered.

The tacit implication may be that none of the prosecutors thought Cohen trustworthy enough to enter into a cooperation deal with him.

An hour and half into Michael Cohen cross-examination, Trump has remained largely slumped in his seat at the defense table, his eyes fluttering between closed and opened. He has occasionally leaned forward, briefly squinting, but seemed unfazed by a majority of his attorney Todd Blanche's strikes at Cohen.

Meanwhile, the majority of the jury has appeared attentive to Cohen's testimony. Unlike the intense back and forth between defense attorney Susan Necheles and Stormy Daniels last week, during which jurors turned their heads with every question, they appear to be watching Cohen's cross-examination more casually. Some focus only on Blanche, while others keep their attention on Cohen.

As he exited the courtroom for the mid-morning break, Trump gave a thumbs-up to a reporter who shouted, "How's Todd doing?"

Defense attorney Todd Blanche attempted to highlight Michael Cohen's contrasting statements about whether he wanted a pardon from then-President Trump.

Cohen told jurors that he never asked Trump for a pardon, though he asked his lawyer about the possibility.

"I never asked for it. I spoke to my attorney about it because we had seen on television President Trump talking about potentially pre-pardoning everyone and putting an end to this," Cohen said.

Cohen confirmed he talked to attorney Robert Costello about exploring the idea of getting a pardon, which he would have accepted at the time.

Blanche said that during Cohen's 2019 Congressional testimony, Cohen said, "I have never asked for, nor would I accept a pardon from President Trump."

Blanche said that Cohen later said something different during a deposition.

"And do you remember being asked the same question, about accepting a pardon ... and you said "you directed your lawyer to explore the possibility because you were 100% open to accepting it?" Blanche asked.

"Yes sir," Cohen said. "At that present moment, it was true. I wanted this nightmare to end ... I asked them, is this really something that they're talking about? Can you find out?"

Pushed by Blanche on the issue, Cohen refused to acknowledge his congressional testimony was a lie.

"That was a lie, was it?" Blanche asked.

"At the time it was accurate," Cohen said.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche continued to work to paint a picture of Michael Cohen as a proven liar who pleaded guilty to crimes associated with those lies and leveraged his cooperation as part of those plea deals to secure a shorter prison sentence.

"When you plead guilty to a crime, one of the things you get -- one of the benefits you get -- is a little time off your sentence ... correct?" Blanche asked.

Blanche then said that in the case of Cohen's guilty plea to charges that included those related to the Stormy Daniels payment, "You got that credit even though you lied."

Cohen, for his part, has claimed some responsibility for the hush money charges Donald Trump now faces -- but he has suggested that he himself should not have been charged, and that the system that charged him was "corrupt."

"Do you have any doubt in your mind that the outcome of this trial affects you personally?" Blanche asked Cohen.

"Yes," Cohen replied.