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.

"You saw him on the stand for three days -- do you believe that for a second?," Blanche asked. "That after getting stiffed on his bonus in 2016 … do you think that Michael Cohen thought, 'I'mgoing to work for free?'"

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

Defense attorney Todd Blanche reminded the jury that Trump was president at the time Cohen's invoices were being paid, suggesting that he was too busy to actually look at the checks he was signing.

"President Trump was very busy. He was running the country," Blanche said.

Blanche noted the testimony of then-Trump aide Madeleine Westerhout who testified that Trump "sometimes" looked at what he was signing.

"You can't convict President Trump because 'sometimes,' without being specific at all ... President Trump looked at invoices ... that is a stretch," Blanch said. "And that is reasonable doubt."

"The leap that the government wants you to take that he looks at the checks, looked at the invoices ... is absurd," Blanche said.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche highlighted that American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer, normally helped campaigns with suppressing negative information.

"This is the same thing AMI had been doing for decades," Blanche said. "They had been doing it for President Trump since the 90s."

"Nothing criminal about it -- it's done all the time," Blanche said.

Blanche added that AMI worked with Rahm Emanuel and Arnold Schwarzenegger during their campaigns and that published David Pecker thought his arrangement with Trump was "good business."

"There is zero criminal intent in that 2015 meeting," Cohen said about the Trump Tower meeting where prosecutors argued that the conspiracy originated.

Blanche calls the idea that "sophisticated people" like Trump and Pecker "believed positive stories in the National Enquirer could influence the 2016 election is preposterous."

Blanche highlighted the limited circulation of the National Enquirer -- about 350,000 at the time of the alleged scheme -- prevented the publication from having a meaningful impact on voters.