Hope Hicks took the stand Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money case, recounting in her morning testimony how she followed Trump from the real estate world to politics and how his 2016 presidential campaign was turned upside down following a leak of a video recording in which he boasted about grabbing women without their permission.
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Quick Read
- Testimony in Trump Trial: Hope Hicks testified as a witness in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, recounting her shift from the real estate sector to Trump’s 2016 political campaign and the upheaval following the leak of a video where Trump boasted about inappropriate behavior towards women.
- Hicks’ Role and Perspective: Hicks, formerly close to Trump and serving as White House communications director, discussed the intense reaction within the campaign to the “Access Hollywood” tape, portraying it as a significant crisis.
- Campaign’s Response to Allegations: She elaborated on the campaign’s strategic responses to suppress damaging stories in the press, aligning with Trump’s directives to counter claims of extramarital sexual encounters made by women.
- Charges Against Trump: The trial centers on accusations that Trump engaged in a scheme to illegally sway the 2016 election by concealing allegations through hush money, charges he denies, leading to 34 counts of falsifying business records.
- Historic Trial: This marks the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president, emphasizing the gravity and unprecedented nature of the case.
The Associated Press has the story:
Hicks says Trump directed her to deny claims by Daniels & McDougal to WSJ
Hope Hicks took the stand Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money case, recounting in her morning testimony how she followed Trump from the real estate world to politics and how his 2016 presidential campaign was turned upside down following a leak of a video recording in which he boasted about grabbing women without their permission.
Hicks, a former Trump adviser, is the latest witness to be called in a frenzied second week of testimony that included stints from lawyer Keith Davidson, who represented porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in their respective hush money negotiations; forensic analyst Douglas Daus, who analyzed the contents of phones belonging to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen; and Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal with the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
Prosecutors have said that Trump and others conducted a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by purchasing and burying salacious stories that might hurt his campaign.
Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records to cover up hush money payments — including $130,000 given to Daniels by Cohen — recording them instead as legal expenses.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury.
HICKS DESCRIBES TRUMP’S EMOTIONS IN WAKE OF ‘ACCESS HOLLYWOOD’ LEAK
Trump lawyer Emil Bove returned to the day of the “Access Hollywood” tape release in his cross-examination of Hope Hicks, asking her to characterize how Donald Trump was feeling at that moment. She obliged, giving one of her longer answers of the day Friday.
“President Trump really values Mrs. Trump’s opinion and she doesn’t weigh in all the time but when she does it’s really meaningful to him,” she said. “He really, really respects what she has to say. I think he was really concerned about what the perception of this would be and yeah I know that was weighing on him.”
“I don’t think he wanted anyone in his family to be hurt or embarrassed by anything happening in the campaign,” she continued.
As she spoke, Trump appeared to nod slightly, his gaze fixed on the witness box.
HICKS RECALLS CONVERSATION WITH TRUMP ABOUT THE DANIELS PAYMENT
Before Donald Trump’s lawyers began cross-examination of Hope Hicks, prosecutors asked her to describe what Trump said about a conversation he had with Michael Cohen in February 2018. That was right after Cohen told The New York Times that he — Cohen — had paid the $130,000 to Stormy Daniels out of his own pocket.
Hicks said Trump told her that Cohen said he “felt like it was his job to protect him and that’s what he was doing, and he did it out of the kindness of his own heart and he never told anybody about it.”
Under questioning by prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, Hicks conceded that such an act would be “out of character” for Cohen.
“I didn’t know Michael to be an especially charitable person or selfless person,” she said.
But even as Trump claimed he never knew about the payments, Hicks said, her old boss came to believe the decision to bury the story was prudent.
BRIEF RECESS CALLED AFTER HICKS BREAKS DOWN ON WITNESS STAND
Judge Juan M. Merchan called a sudden recess in Donald Trump’s hush money trial Friday afternoon after Hope Hicks began crying on the witness stand.
Trump lawyer Emil Bove had just begun cross-examination of her, asking her a question reflecting on her time at the Trump Organization, when she broke down.
Bove said, “Your honor, can we take a break?”
Merchan then asked Hicks if she needed time. The witness had turned away from the microphone and appeared to be breaking down in tears.
“Yes,” she said gently.
Merchan then sent the jury out of the room. Hicks left a moment later, still emotional as she slipped out a side door.
TRUMP WAS ‘CONCERNED’ ABOUT WIFE MELANIA SEEING ARTICLE ON MCDOUGAL
Hope Hicks testified Friday that she spoke with Donald Trump on Nov. 5, 2016, the day after the Wall Street Journal article on Karen McDougal’s hush money deal was published.
She said that he “was concerned about the story. He was concerned about how it would be viewed by his wife, and he wanted me to make sure the newspapers weren’t delivered to their residence that morning.”
Asked if Trump was also worried about the story’s impact on his campaign, Hicks testified that everything they spoke about during the time was viewed through the lens of the campaign, with Trump often asking her, “How is it playing?” as a way of gauging how his appearances, speeches and policies were landing with voters.
Hicks testified that she was almost certain that Trump used the phrase to express concern about how the Journal story would affect his election chances and the final days of his campaign.
JURORS SEE TEXTS BETWEEN HICKS AND COHEN AFTER MCDOUGAL DEAL WAS REVEALED
Hope Hicks was asked Friday about text messages she exchanged with Michael Cohen immediately after the publication of The Wall Street Journal’s story about the National Enquirer’s parent company buying the rights to Karen McDougal’s story.
One message, displayed for jurors, showed Hicks requesting Cohen share a phone number for David Pecker, the president of parent company American Media Inc. “Mr. Trump wanted to speak with him,” she testified.
In another message, Cohen informs Hicks he has a “statement by Storm denying everything and contradicting the other porn stars.” Hicks testified she didn’t know what Cohen was referring to “and I didn’t want to know.”
Both Cohen and Hicks were initially pleased by what Hicks described as a “muted” reaction to the Journal story.
“It wasn’t being picked up in the same way that something like the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape was,” she said. “It wasn’t wall-to-wall coverage.”
HICKS SAYS TRUMP DIRECTED HER TO DENY CLAIMS BY DANIELS AND MCDOUGAL TO WSJ
Hope Hicks resumed testifying after a lunch break, with a prosecutor focusing his questions on the Trump campaign’s response to a Wall Street Journal story published days before Election Day in 2016 that exposed the National Enquirer’s $150,000 catch-and-kill deal with Karen McDougal.
Hicks testified that Donald Trump requested that she convey to the Journal reporter who reached out for comment that he denied McDougal’s claims of an affair and porn actor Stormy Daniels’ claims of a sexual encounter, which were also mentioned in the article.
As is standard practice, The Wall Street Journal contacted Hicks before publication of the article and included Hicks’ statement in the story.
She read a portion of her denial, as printed in the Journal, on the witness stand: “Hope Hicks, a Trump campaign spokeswoman, said of the agreement with Ms. McDougal: ‘We have no knowledge of any of this.’”
Hicks recalled that Trump and Michael Cohen spoke by phone after the story was published, but that nothing stood out from the call. She remembered Trump being on the call while in a car traveling from an airport to a campaign event in Pennsylvania.
“I don’t remember anything that was said,” Hicks testified.
COURT RESUMES FOLLOWING LUNCH BREAK
Court in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has resumed after a midday lunch break.
The former president smiled broadly as he walked back into the courtroom and surveyed the gallery. He returned to the courtroom ignoring a shouted question about “Access Hollywood” but raised his palm to reporters in a half-wave.
Meanwhile, Judge Juan M. Merchan had returned to the bench and Hope Hicks returned to the witness stand while the jury entered the courtroom for the resumption of testimony.
TABLOID PUBLISHER TOLD HER THE MCDOUGAL DEAL WAS FOR MAGAZINE COVERS, HICKS SAYS
Before Friday’s lunch break in Donald Trump’s criminal trial, Hope Hicks testified that after striking out with Jared Kushner in her bid to have the Wall Street Journal’s story about American Media Inc. buying the rights to Karen McDougal’s story, she called Michael Cohen and then David Pecker.
Hicks testified that she didn’t really remember what Cohen said to her, but “there was a reason I called David next.”
“I think Michael sort of feigned like he didn’t know what I was talking about and that we should connect with David to get more information,” Hicks testified.
Asked about her conversation with Pecker, Hicks said she “asked what was going on, why was I receiving this email?” — referring to the request for comment she’d received from the Journal reporter.
“He explained that Karen McDougal was paid for magazine covers and fitness columns and that it was all very legitimate and that’s what the contract was for,” Hicks testified.
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— Key players: Who’s who at Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial
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