CNN’s Rick Santorum goes down in flames trying to defend Trump from damning Cohen evidence

Trump defender Rick Santorum tried to brush aside President Donald Trump being implicated in a criminal conspiracy by his own former attorney, but CNN's John Berman quickly shut him down by showing him the receipts.

During a CNN interview on Thursday, Santorum asserted that former Trump "fixer" Michael Cohen made a "flimsy charge" against the president when he implicated him in a conspiracy to make illegal campaign contributions.

Berman quickly interjected to say that this wasn't a mere accusation -- it was a crime that Cohen pleaded guilty to committing last year at the direction of the president himself.

"I'm not talking about the crime he pled to," Santorum insisted. "I'm saying what Michael Cohen attempted to implicate the president in is something that, in my opinion, is not a crime."

Berman again wrecked this talking point.

"Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to making an illegal donation which was the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels," he said. "The Southern District of New York, in their charging documents, said he was directed to do so by the president of the United States. That is a crime."

At one point, Berman held up a copy of the $35,000 check signed by Trump that Cohen claims was to reimburse him for the hush money payment he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

"You are just misstating the facts here," he told Santorum.

Watch the video below.