Hope Hicks testifies on the 11th day of Donald Trump's hush money trial

Hope Hicks Discusses "Access Hollywood" Tape Fallout and White House Response

Hope Hicks, Donald Trump's former campaign press secretary and White House communications director, took to the stage Friday, sitting very close to her former boss, and spoke about the aftermath of the "Access Hollywood" tape and the White House's response to Trump. He explained the circumstances surrounding the hush-hush response. payment of money.

Mr. Hicks was visibly nervous, and he largely avoided eye contact with Mr. Trump as he answered prosecutors' questions for more than two hours. After prosecutors finished questioning her and Trump's lawyers took the stage, Hicks began crying and appeared overwhelmed. After a moment of silence, she finished her statement.

Using Hicks' testimony, prosecutors showed jurors transcripts of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tapes that upended the Trump campaign and, according to Manhattan prosecutors, showed the number of records leading up to the November 2016 election. It is said that this fueled the Trump campaign's concerns about forcing Stormy Daniels to remain silent during the day. .

New witnesses are expected to take the stand when the court resumes Monday, but Trump's top aides, Trump Organization employees, Daniels and Michael Cohen are all still on deck for prosecutors' summons. I'm on top.

Here are the highlights from the 11th day of Trump's hush money trial.

Trump closed his eyes during Hope Hicks' testimony. Ex-'Apprentice' contestant has theory why

Hicks described the tape as a "crisis" and denied Daniels' claims

After taking her stand, Hicks seemed visibly uncomfortable, but that was soon apparent as she began answering questions.

"I'm really nervous," she said, positioning herself and the microphone in front of her.

Trump often grimaced, occasionally glancing at Hicks and frequently handed notes to his lawyers as he watched the trial on an overhead television. Hicks nearly always faced Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo and the jury, not the dock.

Much of Hicks' testimony focused on her role in the Trump campaign in October 2016, just before Election Day. Prosecutors asked what happened when the "Access Hollywood" tape came out.

"The tape was damaged. This was a crisis," Hicks said.

The aftermath of this tape is how the campaign reacted when the Wall Street Journal reported on Karen McDougall's agreement not to discuss the affair allegations as part of her $150,000 agreement with American Media. revealed.

In a report that also mentioned Daniels, Hicks, then a Trump campaign spokesperson, denied that Trump had an affair with either woman. Hicks was asked for comment by reporters about her conversations with Trump and Michael Cohen.

"What I told the Wall Street Journal is what I was told," Hicks said of Daniels' denial of the allegations.

During Hicks' cross-examination, Trump's lawyer, Emile Bove, elicited testimony that Trump was also worried about what his wife would think. Hicks testified that President Trump asked that the newspaper not be delivered to his apartment on the day the article was published.

"I don't think he wanted anyone in his family to be hurt or embarrassed by what happened during his campaign." "He wanted them to be proud of him," Hicks said.

Jurors will hear how President Trump reacted to 'Access Hollywood' tape

Jurors on Friday saw the full transcript of the "Access Hollywood" tape, which included President Trump's infamous "grab the f**k" comment and other profanity, but the campaign called it " He tried to dismiss it as a "locker room conversation."

(However, the judge ruled that the video would prejudice the jury, so they could not hear Trump's remarks on tape).

Hicks took jurors into the chaos of the Trump campaign in response to an Oct. 7, 2016 Washington Post report. Hicks first learned about the tape the same day, when he received an email from a reporter asking for comment on an article.

"I was worried," Hick said. "I was curious about the content of the email. I was worried because I didn't have time to respond. I was worried that there was a record even though there was no tape. There was a lot of play. ”

Hicks forwarded the email, which included a transcript of the audio recording, to several Trump campaign staffers, including Kellyanne Conway.

Hicks wrote two notes on his email saying it was "flagged." "1) I need to listen to the tape to find out. 2) Deny, deny, deny."

"Strategy number two is probably a little more difficult," Hicks said with a laugh on the witness stand.

Hicks, along with several other senior aides, including Steve Bannon, Conway, Jared Kushner and Jason Miller, spoke to Trump about the tape at Trump Tower when the story first broke. I remember talking to the president. Hicks noted that Trump asked to see the actual tape and said, "He said that's not what he said it was." But when Trump saw the tape, he was furious.

Hicks said she wasn't worried "at the time" about the impact on female voters, but it may have crossed her mind hours later or the next day.

"He didn't want to offend anyone," Hicks said of Trump. "I think he felt it was normal for the two of them to have a conversation."

'Full 9-alarm fire': Honig reacts to transcript of testimony from Trump hush money trial

Prosecutors are getting closer and closer to the crime.

Prosecutors spent two weeks scrutinizing the negotiations that led to hush money payments to McDougal and Daniels before the 2016 election.

However, these payments themselves are not illegal. Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records, stemming from his attempt to conceal a $130,000 repayment by Cohen to silence Daniels before the 2016 election.

Hicks' testimony moved prosecutors closer to repayment and indictment.

Hicks was asked about the White House's reaction when stories about Cohen's payments to Daniels surfaced in 2018, but Cohen initially claimed he had made the payments without Trump's knowledge. was. Ms. Hicks testified that Mr. Trump told her about the hush money payment after Mr. Cohen made a statement to the New York Times that Mr. Cohen voluntarily paid hush money to Mr. Daniels. did.

Mr. Colangelo sarcastically asked Mr. Hicks whether it was out of Mr. Cohen's character to pay Mr. Daniels for Mr. Trump out of Mr. Trump's goodwill.

"I don't think that's appropriate for Michael," Hiccup replied. "I didn't know Michael was a particularly philanthropic and selfless person."

Hicks also said that Trump told her it would be better to go public about the matter at this point in 2018 rather than before the 2020 election, saying, ``It's better for Trump to address this now.'' I feel that we will do that," he said. “It would have been worse if this story had come to light before the election,” she said.

Hicks said she had no direct knowledge of the hush money payments or repayments. But this sets the stage for future witnesses to come forward and begin explaining this part of the story in detail to the jury.

Attack on Mr. continue. "Fix It" Michael Cohen

Trump's lawyers continued their attack on Cohen's credibility during the trial on Friday, questioning everything from the way he handled his cell phone to the way he "cheated" during the 2016 campaign. tracked.

During cross-examination, Mr. Trump's lawyers asked Mr. Hicks to confirm that Mr. Cohen was not knowledgeable about campaign strategy and had engaged in actions not authorized by the campaign.

“He liked to call himself the Fixer and ‘Mr. Fix it...and because he broke it first, I was able to fix it afterwards,'' Hiccup said with a laugh.

Mr. Trump's team also used cross-examination of Douglas Dauss, the digital forensics expert who examined Mr. Cohen's cellphone, to cast doubt on Mr. Trump's former lawyer's credibility.

Before the trial began, Mr. Trump's team sought to subpoena the Manhattan district attorney's office who had control of the cellphone during the four-day period between its acquisition and its delivery to the Dauss police station. "We would like to challenge the integrity of the evidence that Dany (New York District Attorney) plans to provide from Mr. Cohen's cell phone for use in his cross-examination," Trump's lawyers said in the letter. , "with regard to prejudice and hostility toward President Trump." Attacks the dishonesty of DANY's investigation. ”

Mr. Daus presented material recordings of Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen from September 2016 that remained on Mr. Cohen's cell phone, but in 2017 Mr. Cohen synced his cell phone to his laptop and turned it off. They agreed that they do not know what they did with their phones in 2020 when they were using them.

The prosecution tried to ignore this aspect of the defense at trial.

"Was there any evidence of tampering or tampering with the data accessed in connection with recording the evidence?" asked prosecutor Chris Conroy.

"I didn't," Daus testified.

Judge reminds President Trump that silence order doesn't mean he can't testify

President Trump continues to slam the gag order issued by Judge Juan Machan. The gag order prohibits the defendant from commenting on potential witnesses and most officials and associates of the court and New York prosecutor's office. (The judge himself and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg do not have insurance.)

CNN fact checker Daniel Dale wrote that President Trump has repeatedly given the impression that the gag order is much broader than it actually is. For example, at a campaign rally in Michigan on Wednesday, President Trump said, ``Because he gagged me,'' even though nothing in the gag order actually prevents conversation. I'm not even allowed to talk to you.'' Suspend election speeches.

He has previously said it would prevent him from expressing his position. However, President Trump acknowledged to reporters Friday morning that the silence order would not affect his ability to testify if he chose to testify, but the judge ruled there was no question. revealed. "An order restricting speech outside the courtroom does not preclude testimony in any way," Marchand said in court Friday. "It doesn't prohibit you from taking a stand, it doesn't limit or minimize what you can say."

Mr. Trump paid the $9,000 fine he received for a recent media breach with two cashier's checks.

However, Marchand has not yet made a decision on the other news-control violations that Trump is accused of.