White Home Communications Director Hope Hicks, certainly one of President Trump’s closest aides and advisers, arrived to fulfill behind closed doorways with the Home Intelligence Committee, on the Capitol in Washington on Feb. 27, 2018.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
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J. Scott Applewhite/AP
White Home Communications Director Hope Hicks, certainly one of President Trump’s closest aides and advisers, arrived to fulfill behind closed doorways with the Home Intelligence Committee, on the Capitol in Washington on Feb. 27, 2018.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
NEW YORK — Hope Hicks, a Trump-era White Home adviser and communications director, testified in former President Donald Trump’s legal trial on Friday.
Hicks’ title had been introduced up by a number of witnesses who’ve testified earlier than her. She was questioned by prosecutors about her data of the deal brokered between Trump and the management on the Nationwide Enquirer tabloid to “catch and kill” tales that might hurt his 2016 presidential run and the marketing campaign’s dealing with of the media fallout of these tales.
Hicks was the ninth witness to testify in Manhattan in opposition to the previous president. Trump faces 34 felony counts alleging that he falsified New York enterprise information as a way to conceal damaging data to affect the 2016 presidential election. Trump claims the trial itself is “election interference” due to how it’s disrupting his 2024 bid for president as a result of he have to be current in courtroom each day and might’t marketing campaign when he’s.
On social media and to reporters exterior the courtroom, Trump reiterated his declare that the trial is a witch hunt. Though he mentioned he couldn’t touch upon testimony due to a gag order, he mentioned he was “very keen on what passed off as we speak.”
Who’s Hope Hicks? And the way does he match into the prosecution’s case?
Hicks has labored for Trump since 2014 when she labored for the Trump Group underneath Ivanka Trump, the previous president’s daughter, and Trump himself. Hicks joined Trump’s first presidential marketing campaign in 2015 as press secretary. After Trump was elected, she joined the administration as director of strategic communications and later as communications director. She resigned from the function in 2018.
Hicks went on to affix the Fox Corp., as chief communications officer and govt vp however got here again to the White Home in 2020 as an aide to Jared Kushner, Ivanka’s husband, and counselor to Trump.
Hicks’ early testimony detailed her historical past with the Trump household, each in enterprise and in politics. Whereas on the stand, she detailed the moments during which the Entry Hollywood tape first got here out and the marketing campaign response to it.
Hicks additionally testified to receiving a media inquiry from a Wall Road Journal reporter who was in search of remark from the marketing campaign for a narrative on the allegations that Trump had an affair with Playboy mannequin Karen McDougal and grownup movie star Stormy Daniels. Trump has denied each allegations.
She acknowledged that in that point, the main focus for these in Trump’s orbit was the election. Hicks mentioned it additionally would have been out of character for Cohen to concern the cost to Daniels “out of the kindness of his coronary heart,” as she mentioned Trump prompt to her then.
Hicks mentioned she did not know Cohen to be “charitable” and is the “sort of one who seeks credit score.”
In earlier testimony, David Pecker, former writer of the Nationwide Enquirer, testified that Hicks was out and in of an preliminary assembly he had in August 2015 the place the deal to help the marketing campaign was made. Hicks additionally used to work for a communication and technique agency that labored with American Media Inc., which on the time owned the Nationwide Enquirer.
In testimony Friday, she mentioned she recalled typically being out and in of conferences with Trump at Trump Tower and had seen Pecker at Trump Tower, however she did not bear in mind any assembly particulars.
Throughout opening statements, prosecutors famous the Entry Hollywood tape was launched a month earlier than the election.
“The marketing campaign went into quick injury management mode,” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo mentioned in opening statements, including that Trump acquired phrase the subsequent day that one other lady — Daniels — was about to come back ahead together with her personal alleged sexual encounter with the GOP nominee.
A narrative of infidelity with a porn star would have been damaging to the marketing campaign, Colangelo mentioned, and Trump needed to “forestall American voters from studying about that data earlier than Election Day.”
In 2019 a whole bunch of pages of courtroom papers have been made public and confirmed communication between Hicks, Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, Pecker, Trump and others within the fallout of the discharge of the tape and within the lead as much as the take care of Daniels.
The funds made represent the 34 “falsified” enterprise information the prosecution alleged Trump made. In opening statements, prosecutors argued that Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen submitted 11 “phony invoices” paid for by checks with “false entries” signed by Trump himself.
Trump has pleaded not responsible and as an alternative argues that each one he did was pay his lawyer.
What did Trump’s attorneys ask her about?
Hicks received emotional asking for a break as she sniffled when requested about her historical past with the Trump Group.
When requested if Cohen was on the marketing campaign, Hicks mentioned not formally and the marketing campaign had separate counsel although Cohen made statements and TV appearances. She notes that Cohen would name himself Trump’s “fixer.”
“I used to say that he favored to name himself a fixer or Mr. Repair It, and it was solely as a result of he first broke it,” Hicks mentioned prompting laughter within the courtroom.
Trump lawyer Emil Bove additionally requested Hicks if it was a daily follow to work with the media to advertise tales, resembling amplifying constructive tales.
“I’ve solely been on one marketing campaign, and it was an ideal one,” Hicks mentioned, acknowledging that it was commonplace within the Trump marketing campaign. “I would not have a job if that wasn’t a daily follow.”
When answering questions for the prosecution, Hicks additionally famous that when media studies first got here out concerning the funds and alleged affairs, Trump was involved concerning the story and the way it will be seen by his spouse, Melania. “He needed to verify the newspapers weren’t delivered to their residence that morning,” she mentioned.
In opening statements, Trump’s attorneys aimed to determine that any cost to maintain tales out of the press had much less to do with the election and extra to do with Trump’s safety of his household.
Who else has the jury heard from to this point?
Jurors have heard from eight different witnesses together with:
- David Pecker, former CEO of American Media Inc. He testified about making a take care of Trump and Cohen in 2015 to assist Trump’s marketing campaign by discovering doubtlessly damaging tales and serving to to kill them.
- Keith Davidson, the previous lawyer for McDougal and Daniels’ who negotiated their funds in change for the rights to their tales. He testified and verified varied textual content messages, telephone calls and conversations surrounding the offers.
- Rhona Graff, a longtime govt assistant on the Trump Group. She testified in opposition to her former boss about how she entered McDougal’s and Daniels’ contact data into the Trump Group’s listing. Her testimony verified Trump’s contact lists.
- Gary Farro, a former banker at First Republic Financial institution. He testified about opening accounts for Cohen that will ultimately be used to pay Daniels. He mentioned if he had recognized what the accounts can be used for they could not have ever been opened.
- Robert Browning, govt director for archives for C-SPAN. He verified two 2016 Trump marketing campaign clips and one 2017 press convention clip the place Trump referred to as Cohen a proficient lawyer and the place Trump referred to as allegations from ladies lies.
- Phillip Thompson of Esquire Deposition Options. He verified video and transcript of a 2022 deposition Trump gave for his civil defamation lawsuit in opposition to author E. Jean Carroll. In a video clip performed from the deposition, Trump confirms his spouse is Melania Trump and his Reality Social deal with, amongst different issues.
- Doug Daus, a supervising forensics analyst within the Manhattan District Legal professional’s workplace. He testified to authenticating telephone knowledge; prosecutors performed a recording of Cohen and Trump during which Cohen might be heard telling Trump, “I have to open up an organization for the switch of all of that information concerning our good friend, David.”
- Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal within the Manhattan DA’s workplace. She testified to analyzing Trump’s social media posts.
