Hope Hicks Testifies in Trump Trial
Hope Hicks, who served as Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign press secretary and held various roles in his White House, testified in his New York criminal case on Friday.
Her testimony on the 11th day of the trial followed that of forensic analyst Douglas Daus and paralegal Georgia Longstreet in the second week of witness testimony.
Lawyer Keith Davidson wrapped up his testimony on Thursday after spending nearly 6 1/2 hours on the stand over two days, providing details of his negotiations with Michael Cohen and the National Enquirer on behalf of Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.
Daus also testified that day about what he found on Cohen’s cellphone, including nearly 40,000 contacts saved to the device.
Trump is facing accusations of falsifying internal business records to cover up hush money payments, including $130,000 given to Daniels by Cohen, recording them as legal expenses instead.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Hicks testified that she asked Jared Kushner to delay the publication of a story involving Trump and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
She received a request for comment from a Wall Street Journal reporter four days before the November 2016 election about a forthcoming story regarding McDougal’s affair with Trump.
Hicks reached out to Kushner in hopes he could use his connection to Rupert Murdoch to delay the story, but Kushner said he likely wouldn’t be able to reach Murdoch in time.
Hicks also testified that she first heard Stormy Daniels’ name mentioned on Trump’s plane about a year before Cohen’s deal with her to keep quiet about her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump.
In November 2015, Hicks heard Trump and his security detail discussing Daniels at a celebrity golf tournament.
Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in the final weeks of Trump’s 2016 campaign to keep quiet about the alleged encounter they had in 2006, which Trump denies.
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