Prosecutors in Donald Trump‘s hush money trial are moving deeper into his orbit following an inside-the-room account about the former president’s reaction to a politically damaging recording that surfaced in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign. Hope Hicks, a former White House official and for years a top aide, is by far the closest Trump associate to have taken the witness stand in the Manhattan trial.
Quick Read
Trump’s Hush Money Trial Enters Week Three:
- Core Accusations: The trial against former U.S. President Donald Trump, related to hush money payments, continues to intensify as it enters its third week. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, associated with efforts to suppress potentially embarrassing stories about his personal conduct.
- Hope Hicks’ Testimony: Hope Hicks, a close associate and former White House official, provided key testimony, offering jurors an inside look at the campaign’s response to the release of the 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape where Trump made controversial remarks about women. Hicks highlighted the immediate recognition of the tape’s potential damage to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
- Michael Cohen’s Anticipated Testimony: The trial is building up to the testimony of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, who has already pleaded guilty to federal charges related to these hush money payments. Cohen’s testimony is expected to be a central element, with the defense likely to focus on discrediting his reliability and character.
- Context of Payments: The payments in question were made to a porn actor and a Playboy model, both of whom claimed to have had sexual encounters with Trump before his political career. These payments were allegedly logged falsely as legal expenses by the Trump Organization.
- Defense Strategy: Trump’s legal team has been actively challenging the prosecution’s narrative, suggesting that Trump might have been extorted and that the payments were protective measures rather than attempts to influence the election. They argue these were personal issues, not campaign finance violations.
- Broader Legal Challenges for Trump: This trial is one of several legal challenges facing Trump, including charges related to attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and mishandling classified documents. This case is notably proceeding as one of the most immediate legal battles Trump faces before the upcoming November elections.
- Implications: The outcome of this trial could significantly impact Trump’s political future, especially with the proximity to the next presidential election cycle. The trial scrutinizes not just specific legal violations but also the ethical and operational norms of Trump’s campaign and business practices.
The Associated Press has the story:
Prosecutors move deeper into Trump’s orbit as testimony in hush money trial enters 3rd week
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP) —
Prosecutors in Donald Trump‘s hush money trial are moving deeper into his orbit following an inside-the-room account about the former president’s reaction to a politically damaging recording that surfaced in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign.
Hope Hicks, a former White House official and for years a top aide, is by far the closest Trump associate to have taken the witness stand in the Manhattan trial.
Her testimony Friday was designed to give jurors an insider’s view of a chaotic and pivotal stretch in the campaign, when a 2005 recording showing Trump talking about grabbing women without their permission was made public and when he and his allies sought to prevent the release of other potentially embarrassing stories. That effort, prosecutors say, included hush money payments to a porn actor and Playboy model who both have said they had sexual encounters with Trump before he entered politics.
“I had a good sense to believe this was going to be a massive story and that it was going to dominate the news cycle for the next several days,” Hicks said of the “Access Hollywood” recording, first revealed in an October 2016 Washington Post story. “This was a damaging development.”
The trial enters its third week of testimony Monday with prosecutors building toward their star witness, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the hush money payments. Cohen is expected to undergo a bruising cross-examination from defense attorneys seeking to undermine his credibility with jurors.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with payments made to stifle potentially embarrassing stories. Prosecutors say Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, reimbursed Cohen for payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels and gave Cohen bonuses and extra payments. Prosecutors allege that those transactions were falsely logged in company records as legal expenses.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied sexual encounters with any of the women, as well as any wrongdoing.
So far, jurors have heard from witnesses including a tabloid magazine publisher and Trump friend who bought the rights to several sordid tales about Trump to prevent them from coming out and a Los Angeles lawyer who negotiated hush money deals on behalf of both Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Trump’s lawyers have tried to chip away at the prosecution’s theory of the case and the credibility of some witnesses. They’ve raised questions during cross-examinations about whether Trump was possibly a target of extortion, forced to arrange payouts to suppress harmful stories and spare his family embarrassment and pain. Prosecutors maintain the payments were about preserving his political viability as he sought the presidency.
The case is one of four Trump prosecutions and possibly the only one that will reach trial before the November election. Other felony indictments charge him with plotting to subvert the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and illegally hoarding classified documents after he left the White House.
