Trump trial: Hope Hicks faces her ex-boss on 'Access Hollywood' tape, Daniels payment

Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks testified that when she informed Trump's brain trust of the discovery of the "Access Hollywood" tape, there was a consensus among the staff that "the tape was damaging. This was a crisis."

"This was kind of pulling us backwards in a way that was going to be hard to overcome," Hicks said.

Hicks said she was not immediately concerned about the impact of the tape on female voters, but the concern was "quickly raised."

"Mr. Trump felt this wasn't good," Hicks said, but he didn't think it was "something to get so upset over."

"He felt this was pretty standard stuff for two guys chatting with each other," Hicks said.

At this point in Hicks' testimony, jurors were shown the written statement that the Trump campaign issued on the afternoon that the "Access Hollywood" tape was released.

"This was locker room banter…" the statement said in part.

Jurors then saw the same video statement from Trump that was played for them earlier this morning during the Georgia Longstreet direct examination.

Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks testified that when the Washington Post informed her of the existence of the "Access Hollywood" tape, she went up to the conference room on the 26th floor of Trump Tower where debate prep was taking place. She said Jason Miller, Jarrod Kushner, and Chris Christie was there.

"They were practicing for debate prep," Hicks said.

"The sight of the ... five or six or 6 of us gathered out there was a signal that something was afoot. Mr. Trump asked us to come into the conference room," Hicks said.

Hicks said she read the email aloud, though Trump finished reading it himself.

"We weren't sure how to respond yet," Hicks said. "Everyone was absorbing the shock of it."

"He said that didn't sound like something he would say," Hicks said of Trump's response to the video.

"I had a good sense this was going to be a massive story," Hicks said.

Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks said she first learned of the "Access Hollywood" tape when she was contacted by the Washington Post.

"It would have been in the afternoon of Oct. 7," in 2016, Hicks said. "I received an email from the Washington Post asking for comment."

"I was in my office on the 14th floor of Trump Tower," Hicks said.

Asked about the timing of the story, Hicks said the story was "a month -- maybe a little less than a month" from the election.

Jurors were then shown the email that Hicks received from a Washington Post to request a comment about the video.

"URGENT: WashPost query," the subject line reads.

The email detailed that the video contained Trump engaging in an inappropriate conversation about women and included a transcript of Trump's remarks.

"I was concerned. Very concerned," Hicks said about her reaction to the email.

"I was concerned about the contents of the email. I was concerned about the lack of time to respond. I was concerned that we had a transcript not a tape. There was a lot at play," Hicks said.

Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks described the early days of the Trump campaign's press shop as being staffed by only her and "Mr. Trump, who's better than anybody at communications and branding."

She said he was "very involved" in crafting messaging for the campaign. "He knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it and we were all just following his lead."

Hicks testified that Trump was responsible for the campaign's messaging.

"I would say that Mr. Trump was responsible," Hicks said. "He knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it, and we were all just following his lead. I think that he deserves the credit for the different messages that the campaign focused on."

"Do you know someone named David Pecker," prosecutor Matthew Colangelo asked.

"Yes," Hicks said, noting that she first met Pecker at an earlier job.

"I reconnected with him at some point as he was a friend of Mr. Trump's," Hicks said. "I knew they were friends."

Hicks said she could not recall attending a meeting between Trump and Pecker at Trump Tower.

"I don't have a recollection of that but it is certainly possible," Hicks said.

Hicks recounted overhearing a phone call between Pecker and Trump where Trump congratulated Pecker for running "a great investigative piece" about Ben Carson's alleged medical malpractice

Hicks recalled another call with Pecker about the National Enquirer's work about Ted Cruz's father's. Jurors heard about this reporting during Pecker's testimony.

"Mr. Trump was just congratulating him on the great reporting," Hicks said. "This is Pulitzer-worthy," Hicks recalled Trump telling Pecker.