Hope Hicks to Give Testimony in Trump’s New York Trial

Hope Hicks, former White House communications director under President Donald Trump, is set to testify at his upcoming New York City trial later this month, as reported by NBC News on Monday.

Hicks, who also served as a top aide to Trump during the 2016 presidential election, appeared before a grand jury in March 2023.

According to sources, Hicks participated in two phone calls in October 2016 with former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen regarding the situation involving former porn star Stormy Daniels and her alleged affair with Trump around a decade prior. The first call took place on Oct. 8, 2016, the day Daniels announced she would reveal her story to the National Enquirer. The second call, later that month, allegedly involved Cohen agreeing to pay Daniels $130,000, as per the report.

Prosecutors are interested in Hicks’ potential firsthand knowledge of Trump authorizing Cohen to make the payment to Daniels for her silence, as per NBC News and The New York Times.

In addition to the payment to Daniels, Cohen reportedly paid $150,000 to American Media Inc., the publisher of the National Enquirer, to suppress former Playboy model Karen McDougal’s claims of an affair with Trump.

Trump faces accusations of reimbursing Cohen $420,000, marking it as “legal expenses” and including a bonus of $60,000, all while denying the alleged affairs. He has pleaded not guilty to the 34-count indictment for falsifying business records.

Other key witnesses set to testify include Cohen, Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford, and former Enquirer publisher David Pecker. The trial, expected to last up to eight weeks, is slated to commence with jury selection on April 15.