Topline
Former White House aide Hope Hicks cried on the witness stand during former President Donald Trumpâs hush money trial Friday when asked by his lawyer about her time working for the former president, according to multiple reports, prompting the judge to call for a break.
Key Facts
Hicks, once a close confidant to Trump who served as his press secretary during his 2016 campaign and as communications director during his presidency, began to cry when Trumpâs lawyer, Emil Bove, asked about her time working for the Trump Organization.
Earlier Friday, while answering questions from prosecutors, Hicks described her conversations with former both Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen about allegations that Trump had affairs with porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, including how she and Cohen exchanged text messages about the attention the initial Wall Street Journal story that broke the news was getting.
The line of questioning is designed by the prosecution to prove that Cohen directly, and illegally, coordinated with Trumpâs campaign to quash the allegations in an effort to influence the election, including by paying Daniels for her silence.
Hicks also detailed the damage control she spearheaded in response to the airing of the Access Hollywood tape in which Trump describes how he could âgrab [women] by the pussy.â
Hicks said she was âconcerned, very concernedâ when The Washington Post first alerted the campaign of its plans to publish a story about the tape, which she then forwarded to her team with the instructions to âdeny, deny, deny,â according to a copy of an email prosecutors presented Friday, The New York Times reported.
Hicks testified that Trumpâs initial reaction was that the comments he made on the tape âdidnât sound like something he would sayââthe same defense she used in responding to The Washington Post.
While the tape is not the subject of any charges Trump faces, prosecutors have used it to describe how it sparked a concerted effort by Trumpâs campaign to eliminate stories about his inappropriate behavior toward women, ultimately leading to the hush money payments.
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Contra
Hicks made several statements that could bolster Trumpâs defense that his family was his primary concern regarding the affair allegations and that Cohen didnât officially work for the campaign. âHe was concerned about how it would be viewed by his wife,â Hicks said of Trumpâs reaction to the affair claims. Cohen, she said âwould try to insert himself at certain momentsâ into the campaignâs operations, adding that Coehn âwent rogueâ and made âunauthorizedâ moves, the Times reported. surprising fact
Surprising Fact
Hicks also detailed how Trump âwas congratulatingâ former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker on unflattering coverage he spearheaded of Trumpâs rivals: âThis is Pulitzer-worthy,â Hicks said Trump told Pecker.
Crucial Quote
Hicks, who said she was ânervousâ at the start of her testimony, spoke highly of Trump, describing him as a âvery hard workerâ and master at branding. Hicksâ testimony to Congress in its Jan. 6 investigation damaged Hicksâ previously tight relationship with Trump, The Washington Post reported, and she told jurors Friday she has not spoken to him since the summer or fall of 2022, around the same time she was called to testify. Hicks told lawmakers at the time that she warned Trump it was unlikely fraud in the 2020 election could have swayed the results of the contest and that Trump, in response, âsaid something along the lines of, you know, âNobody will care about my legacy if I lose, so that wonât matter. The only thing that matters is winning.ââ Hicks also criticized Trump in text messages on Jan. 6, according to evidence collected by the committee, writing, âIâm so upset. Everything we worked for wiped away.â In another message, she said âin one day he ended every future opportunity that doesnât include speaking engagements at the local Proud Boys chapter.â
Key Background
Manhattan prosecutors called Hicks to the stand late Friday morning, after she previously testified before the Manhattan grand jury that voted to bring criminal charges against Trump last year, according to multiple reports. Hicks was one of Trumpâs most trusted advisers during her time in the White House and ran damage control for some of Trumpâs biggest controversies, including former Special Counsel Robert Muellerâs probe into whether Trumpâs 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. Hicksâwho worked previously for Ivanka Trumpâs fashion company before Trump tapped her for his presidential campaignâresigned shortly after her testimony before Congress in 2018 and returned to the White House for a brief period in 2020. Trump spoke highly of Hicks when she left the White House in 2018, lauding her for her âgreat work,â and describing her as âas smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person.â
News Peg
Prosecutors charged Trump last year with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, alleging he illegally labeled reimbursements to Cohen for the hush money payments he made to Daniels as legal expenses on business records. In addition to the payment to Daniels, National Enquirer parent company American Media, Inc., made two separate payments on Trumpâs behalf to McDougal and a doorman who claimed to have knowledge of a child Trump fathered out of wedlock (allegations the National Enquirer deemed were untrue), according to prosecutors and Pecker, who said Trump never reimbursed the company for those two deals. Trumpâs charges do not involve the payments to McDougal and the doorman, but prosecutors have used them to illustrate to the jury their claims that Trump executed the hush money schemes to sway the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has claimed, without evidence, they were brought on President Joe Bidenâs behalf to hurt his chances of winning the election.
Tangent
Hicksâ name has been raised in several instances throughout the trial, including by Pecker, who told jurors he helped coordinate hush money payments to three individuals threatening to come forward with allegations of extramarital affairs involving Trump. Pecker said Hicks was âin and outâ of a 2015 meeting he had with Trump and Trumpâs former lawyer Michael Cohen at Trump Tower where Pecker promised to be the âeyes and earsâ for Trumpâs campaign. Pecker also testified that Trump arranged for him to speak over the phone with Hicks and former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in 2018, shortly after Playboy model Karen McDougal detailed her alleged affair with Trump to CNNâs Anderson Cooper. Pecker had previously arranged a âcatch and killâ agreement with McDougal to buy her rights to the story, and testified that he told Hicks and Sanders he was considering amending McDougalâs agreement to prevent her from continuing to speak about the affair, adding the two âthought that it was a good idea.â Federal prosecutors, in their case against Cohen for his involvement in the hush money payments, alleged that Hicks was on a phone call with Trump and Cohen the day Trump was informed that adult film star Stormy Daniels was seeking to sell her story of an affair with Trump, along with a second phone call on the day after Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her silence, according to The New York Times. Hicks, in her 2019 testimony before Congress in its probe into Russiaâs meddling in the 2016 election, denied any knowledge of the Daniels deal at the time it was arranged and told lawmakers she was not involved in any discussions between Cohen and Trump about the payment.
Further Reading
What To Know About The Three Hush Money Scandals At The Center Of Trumpâs Criminal Trial (Forbes)