Defense attorney Todd Blanche said it is "not ethical" for a lawyer to record his client after Cohen testified that he had recorded Trump.

"You're not supposed to record your client," Blanche said.

"You're not, except the crime-fraud exception rule," Cohen responded.

"Didn't you testify that you recorded your client because you wanted to convince Mr. Pecker he would pay him?" Blanched asked, referring to Cohen's recording of Trump at a 2016 meeting.

"Yes," Cohen replied.

"And you did that under the crime-fraud exception rule?" Blanche asked.

"I was just giving the example," Cohen said.

Several members of the jury were taking notes during this exchange.

On cross-examination, Michael Cohen told jurors that, as part of his work for Donald Trump during his 2016 campiang, he surreptitiously recorded "a handful" of conversations with journalists.

"Did you tell people you were recording them?" Blanche asked.

"No sir," Cohen responded. "It is not illegal in New York."

"Who else did you record surreptitiously?" defense attorney Todd Blanche asked.

"I recorded, off the top of my head ... I can't tell you," Cohen said.

"Jeff Zucker on one event," Cohen said, referring to the then-CNN president. "Mr. Trump at another event," he said.

Trump, at the defense table, angled toward Cohen in his chair, intently watching this testimony.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche pressed Cohen on how he represented Trump to the media during Trump's 2016 campaign.

"You never reached back out to a reporter, ever, without first checking with President Trump?" Blanche asked.

"It was my routine to always advise Mr. Trump," Cohen said. If he didn't, he said "it would mean the end of my job."

An incredulous Blanche asked, "You did that never on your own?"

"Only in consultation with President Trump?" Cohen responded. "If I did that and he didn't like the response, it would probably cost me my job"

Cohen, however, acknowledged that Trump's campaign grew frustrated with his comments to the media.

"I knew that they were upset about it; however, Mr. Trump had turned around and advised them that I don't answer to them," Cohen said.

Cohen added that his comments to the media were aligned with Trump's thoughts on an issue.

"I would always get comments or something in line with a conversation we had on that specific topic," Cohen said. "Again, if I did that and he didn't like the response, it would probably cost me my job."

Defense attorney Todd Blanche then transitioned the topic of the cross-examination to Cohen's involvement in encouraging Trump to run for president.

Cohen earlier told jurors he created the website to encourage Trump, and that the National Enquirer ran a positive story about Cohen's involvement in the campaign.

"You worked very hard during your time working for Trump to get positive stories into the press about President Trump and all the things you were doing?" Blanche asked Cohen.

"Yes sir," Cohen said.

"You worked very hard to make sure there were positive stories about you at times?" Blanche asked.

"Yes sir," Cohen said.

The testimony slightly cuts against one prong of the alleged conspiracy with the National Enquirer -- running positive stories about Trump -- to show that Cohen got some positive press too.

Seven days after Michael Cohen finalized the nondisclosure agreement with Stormy Daniels, the Wall Street Journal published a story about Stormy Daniels and AMI's $150,000 payment to Karen McDougal.

Cohen testified that he knew about it in advance, and when he found out he responded by "contacting Keith Davidson.," Daniels' attorney.

Cohen said he also talked with Trump aide Hope Hicks and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker "so that we could all coalesce around this issue." In a series of calls and emails Cohen said he suggested a response, blaming the "liberal media" and the Clinton campaign.

Cohen said he reacted angrily to Davidson when the Journal story came out, suspecting Davidson leaked the story.

"I wanted to ensure Mr. Trump was safe," Cohen told jurors.

Cohen said that he conveyed to Davidson that Trump was "really angry."

The night the Journal story came out, Cohen said he spoke to Trump just after 9 p.m. for about six minutes. The jury saw a record of the call.

"This was a real serious, again, problem, especially being so close to the election," Cohen recalled saying. He tried to reassure Trump that he, David Pecker and Dylan Howard at the National Enquirer and Keith Davidson were "doing everything in our power to protect Mr. Trump."

But Cohen told jurors he was concerned about the story "because there was a negative story that once again could impact the campaign as a result of women."