Trump trial: Biden calls Trump's remarks 'dangerous'

Defense attorney Todd Blanche sought to undermine a key moment in the state's story of the case -- the White House meeting in February 2017, in which Cohen said he and Trump discussed the plan to repay him.

Blanche showed jurors an email in which Cohen asked a Trump Organization employee to remind him what the agreed-upon monthly sum would be, which was sent less than a week after the meeting.

Blanche said the email demonstrated that there was no discussion of an agreement -- no "tight conspiracy."

"Six days later Cohen doesn't even know how much he's supposed to be paid,' Blanche said.

He also argued against the idea that the parties conspired to win the election.

"It doesn't matter if there was a conspiracy to try and win an election," Blanche said. "By the way, even that -- even if you find that's true -- that's still not enough. It doesn't matter if there was a conspiracy to try to win an election. Every campaign in this country is a conspiracy to promote a candidate."

Defense attorney Todd Blanche shifted his argument to the prosecution's burden to prove criminal intent, "Like a conscious objective. A purpose to defraud. There is no evidence of that ladies and gentlemen," Blanche said. "Where's the intent to defraud on the part of President Trump?"

"President Trump is not guilty. But I expect you're going to hear from Judge Merchan that there's something else that has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt ... the government has to prove to you that President Trump caused these entries ... with an intent to defraud."

"There is no evidence of that," Blanche said. "Were's the intent to defraud on the part of President Trump?"

Displaying Michael Cohen's 1099 form, Blanche said, "If there was some deep-rooted intent to defraud, why do you think it was reported to the IRS as what it was? (Payments) to Michael Cohen, as Trump's personal attorney?"

"The Trump Organization disclosed these payments to the IRS," Blanche said.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche told jurors not to believe that Trump participated in a tax crime by "grossing up" Cohen's reimbursement to account for taxes.

Prosecutors have suggested Trump acted to advance another crime -- potentially the alleged tax crime -- when he falsified business records.

"I expect the government is going to tell you there might have been some tax scheme," Blanche said. "You saw no evidence of the tax treatment from anybody."

Referring to the bank statement where then-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg and Michael Cohen took handwritten notes about the repayment arrangement, Cohen said the document was "full of lies."

"So what proof do you have? What actual evidence do you have that this gross-up was anything to do with taxes? … There's none," he said.

Returning to the testimony of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, defense attorney Todd Blanche asked jurors, "How is the government going to ask you to convict President Trump based on the words of Michael Cohen?"

Blanche insisted to jurors that if the payments were all for repaying Cohen, that would mean Michael Cohen was working for free in 2017 -- something he said he never would have done.

"Is that the man that testified, or was that a lie?" Blanche asked. "That is absurd!" he nearly shouted.