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.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche got fiery as Michael Cohen refused to give yes-or-no answers to some of his questions.

"Sir, sir, please don't make a speech," Blanche snapped at Cohen.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger objected, and Judge Merchan instructed Cohen to just answer the question.

Blanche continued his deep dive into Cohen's past perjury.

"There is no doubt you know what perjury means?" Blanche asked.

"I know what perjury means," Cohen said.

Blanche then asked Cohen about his 2019 congressional testimony following his guilty plea.

"When congressmen ask you questions, they go on and on and on?" Blanche asked.

"Yes sir," Cohen said.

"Even more than I do," Blanche joked.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche confronted Cohen with his past statements about the late Judge William Pauley, to whom he pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges including those related to the Stormy Daniels payment.

“You also believe Judge Pauley is corrupt as well?” Blanche said.

“I have said that,” Cohen said.

“He is deceased, by the way,” Blanche said.

“Yes he is,” Cohen said.

Cohen confirmed that he at one point described Pauley and prosecutors as “f------ animals.”

“Do you believe that Judge Pauley was in on it?” Blanche asked.

“I do,” Cohen said.

Cohen said he does not believe he should have been charged with federal crimes in 2018.

“I do not believe I should have been charged,” Cohen said.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche emphasized that Cohen told a federal judge that he was not pressured or induced to take a guilty plea in 2018 on charge including those related to the Stormy Daniels payment.

"That was a lie?" Blanche said.

"That was not true, correct," Cohen said.

Blanche later asked Cohen to confirm that he believes he lied at the time.

"It was a lie?" Blanche asked.

"Correct," Cohen said.

When Donald Trump won the 2016 election, Cohen testified there was no role for him in the incoming administration.

"My service was no longer necessary," Cohen said.

He was offered a position in the White House as "assistant general counsel" by Reince Preibus, but turned it down. He said he was disappointed he was not considered for chief of staff.

"I didn't want the role. I didn't believe the role was right for me or that I was even competent to be chief of staff. I just wanted my name to be included," he testified.

"It was more about my ego than anything," Cohen said about his disappointment. "I would have liked to have been considered."

Cohen said he pitched being "personal attorney to the president." He would need the role, Cohen said, because there were "outstanding matters" to be dealt with. Cohen conceded it would have helped him personally and professionally.

"I also had another thought in mind, which was consulting. That's what I really wanted because that afforded me the time to stay at home, in New York," he said.

Cohen testified it could have been lucrative to help people understand Trump's thinking.

"Mr. Trump was an enigma," Cohen said. "Because of my close proximity to him for a decade, I did understand."

"Did you think you could monetize being personal attorney to the president?" prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked.

"Absolutely," Cohen said.

Trump's eyes remained closed during this portion of the testimony.