Chief judge Abdel Rahman reopened Saddam’s trial on crimes against humanity at the high security Baghdad courthouse on Wednesday after a three week recess.
Saddam, now also facing genocide charges in a separate case, was cross-examined for the first time over the alleged execution of more than 140 inhabitants of the Shi'ite village of Dujail following an attempt on his life in 1982.
If found guilty he, and seven other defendants, face the death penalty.
During the session which ended after nearly six hours of verbal exchanges, Saddam dismissed the testimony of witnesses and also brushed aside evidence presented by the prosecution against him in the Dujail case.
"The witnesses who testified were brought here after being bribed and briefed of what was to be said," said Saddam.
During his cross-examination, Saddam defended the decision to put on trial the Dujail suspects prior to their alleged executions.
"This was my decision as the president. I had the right to question the judgment, but I was convinced of evidence against them."
Chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Mussawi presented documents linking Saddam to the Dujail massacre, including identity cards of some alleged suspects in the assassination bid who were juveniles when sentenced by the revolutionary court.
"These documents are forged. I have never done anything to a youngster," Saddam told the judge.
Challenging the prosecutor, Saddam said: "You can call experts from China, Germany, France or Egypt and excavate the bodies to check their age".
He also said the video footage shown by the prosecution was not related to the Dujail massacre.
Saddam lashed out at the current government in Baghdad, saying that the interior ministry was as a "side that kills thousands in the street".
He was interrupted by the judge, who told him to refrain from political statements, to which Saddam retorted: "You're scared of the interior minister, he doesn't scare my dog.” Saddam also refused to give his signature for verification.
During the session chief Judge Abdel Rahman expelled defence lawyer Bouchra Khalil after she started showing pictures of Iraqi prisoners being tortured by US forces at the notorious Abu Ghraib jail.
However, after initially threatening her with legal action, the judge later said she would be allowed to rejoin her team "on condition that she respects the court".
The Iraqi High Tribunal on Tuesday said it would charge Saddam and six others for genocide for their role in the killing of Kurds in the late 1980s during the Anfal campaign which left more than 100,000 dead.
PM resists calls to step down
Meanwhile, embattled Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari remained defiant after calls from a vice president for him to step down to end weeks of deadlock on the formation of a new government.
Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi added his voice to the growing pressure from within Mr Jaafari's own alliance that he should withdraw his candidacy for heading the next government. But the incumbent Shiite premier insisted his future be decided by the parliament.
Sunnis, Kurds and secular politicians have publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with Mr Jaafari, while more and more members of his alliance are calling for him to step down.
But so far he has refused to give up his candidacy. He told British newspaper The Guardian that he would not give way to other candidates since he had been chosen by his alliance in a vote.
"There is a decision that was reached by a democratic mechanism and I stand with it ... We have to protect democracy in Iraq and it is democracy which should decide who leads Iraq," he was quoted as saying.
President Jalal Talabani held talks with the leaders to call for a parliament session soon in which members will actually vote for a candidate.
The political talks were shelved on Tuesday despite the US and British leaders warning Iraqi leaders against any further delays in forming a national unity government in the face of the insurgency.
It now appears that government formation talks will be put off until the issue of the candidate for prime minister is settled.