Hope Hicks, Donald Trump’s former campaign press secretary and White House communications director, testified in court about the fallout from the “Access Hollywood” tape and the Trump White House response to stories about hush money payments. Hicks appeared visibly nervous during her testimony and mostly avoided eye contact with Trump. She described the crisis that the tape caused for the Trump campaign just before the November 2016 election. Hicks also denied allegations made by Stormy Daniels in the Wall Street Journal story about hush money payments.
During her testimony, Hicks detailed the chaos within the Trump campaign when the “Access Hollywood” tape was released, including the campaign’s strategy to deny the allegations. She testified that Trump was initially skeptical that he had made the comments on the tape but later became upset when he saw the actual footage. Hicks mentioned that Trump was concerned about how his family would be affected by the negative news coverage and did not want to offend anyone. She also discussed Trump’s reaction to the news of hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal before the 2016 election.
Prosecutors used Hicks’ testimony to explore the response inside the White House when stories about the hush money payments emerged in 2018, with Michael Cohen initially claiming he made the payments without Trump’s knowledge. Hicks mentioned that Trump informed her about the hush money payment after Cohen gave a statement to The New York Times. She stated that Trump believed it was better for the story to come out in 2018 rather than before the 2020 election. Hicks emphasized that she did not have direct knowledge of the payments or repayments but set the stage for future witnesses to provide more details.
Throughout the trial, Trump’s legal team has targeted Cohen’s credibility, questioning his actions during the 2016 campaign. Hicks confirmed that Cohen was not always looped in on campaign strategy and would occasionally act without authorization. The defense also raised doubts about the digital forensics of Cohen’s cell phones, attempting to challenge the integrity of the evidence presented by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. However, the digital forensics expert testified that he did not find any evidence of tampering or manipulation on the data extracted from Cohen’s phones.
The trial also highlighted the negotiations that led to the hush money payments made to Daniels and McDougal, with Trump facing charges of falsifying business records related to how Cohen was reimbursed for the payment to Daniels. Prosecutors used Hicks’ testimony to provide further insight into the repayment process and the charges against Trump. The trial is expected to continue with additional witnesses, including Trump White House aides, Trump Organization employees, Stormy Daniels, and Michael Cohen. The testimony of these witnesses will likely shed more light on the events surrounding the hush money payments and Trump’s response to the allegations.
