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

Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks said she spoke with National Enquirer publisher Pecker about the Karen McDougal story on Nov. 4, 2016.

"He explained that Karen McDougal was paid for magazine covers and fitness columns and that it was all very legitimate. And that was what the contract was for," Hicks said.

Hicks said she spoke with Michael Cohen before calling Pecker.

Hicks said she drafted a statement to respond to the Wall Street Journal, which was about to break the story that National Enquirer parent AMI had paid off McDougal to buy her silence about a long-denied affair with Trump. She then shared the statement with Trump once he returned to his plane.

"When Mr. Trump came on the plane for the rally, I shared it with him as well," Hicks said.

Cohen also made edits and offered feedback to the draft statement, according to an exhibit entered into evidence.

According to Hicks, Trump opted to write his own statement instead.

"He wanted to draft his own statement," Hicks said.

Before he drafted the statement, Hicks and Trump called back Pecker, who repeated the information he told Hicks earlier.

"It included his explanation for this -- that this was a legitimate contract, and that's what they planned to tell the Journal," Hicks said.

Hicks said on the stand that her memory was "very fuzzy at this point," but she said that Trump wanted to make sure the statement denied any relationship with Stormy Daniels, who was also mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article.

"He wanted to know the context and he wanted to make sure that there was a denial of any kind of relationship," Hicks said.

Following this testimony, court broke for lunch. Trump gave a thumbs-up to reporters as he exited the courtroom for the break.

Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks testified that she first heard the name Stormy Daniels in 2015 when she overheard some of the security on Trump's plane discuss a golf tournament Trump attended.

"Her name came up. She was there was with one of the other participants that Mr. Trump had played with that day," Hicks said.

Hicks said she first learned of Karen McDougal when the Wall Street Journal reached out for comment regarding their AMI payment story on Nov. 4, 2016, as the newspaper was preparing to break the story that National Enquirer parent AMI had paid off Karen McDougal to buy her silence about a long-denied affair with Trump.

Jurors were then shown the email Hicks received on Nov. 4, 2016, from the Wall Street Journal.

Hicks said she received the email ahead of a campaign rally.

"I was sort of dealing with this by myself on the plane while the rally was taking place," Hicks said.

According to Hicks, she notified Trump about the story before the rally began.

"I was worried about not having enough time to respond while he was speaking," Hicks said.

Hicks said she forwarded the email to Jared Kushner in part because he had "a very good relationship with Rupert Murdoch," the owner of the Wall Street Journal.

Hicks said she hoped Kushner could "buy a little extra time to deal with this."

"I think [Kushner] said he wasn't going to be able to reach Murdoch and that we should work on responding and deal with it," Hicks said.

Hicks said she called David Pecker's office as well as Cohen, due to his relationship with Pecker.

Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks testified that she spoke with then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen on Oct. 8, 2016, to ask about a rumor she had heard of another potential tape that could be released, following the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape.

"I was calling to ask him to chase down a rumor I had heard with a contact he was familiar with in the media," Hicks said, describing that there "might be another tape that might be problematic for the campaign."

"I didn't want anyone to be blindsided. I wanted to have an understanding of what material was out there that we needed to prepare for," Hicks said.

Hicks said that no such tape existed but Cohen still chased down the rumor for her. She spoke vaguely about what the potential story was.

Hicks was then asked about Trump's campaign speech in Greensboro, North Carolina, which jurors watched earlier this week. Prosecutors again played the tape for the jury.

"These are all horrible lies, all fabrications," Trump told the crown in Greensboro regarding accusations of infidelity. "And we can't let them change the most important election in our lifetime."

"If 5% of the people think it's true and maybe 10% think, we don't win," Trump said at the rally.

Hicks also was asked about Trump's tweets after the "Access Hollywood" video was released.

"Nothing ever happened with any of these women. Totally made up nonsense to steal the election," Trump wrote in one tweet.

Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks testified about the ensuing coverage of the "Access Hollywood" tape.

"It was intense. Dominated coverage for the 36 hours leading up the debate," Hicks said.

Hicks recalled that a Category 4 hurricane was predicted to make landfall around the same time, but the Trump coverage completely dominated the news.

"I don't think anywhere remembers where or when that hurricane made landfall. It was all Trump all the time for ... 36 hours," Hicks said.

Hicks testified about how other Republican politicians -- like Mitt Romney and Mitch McConnell -- responded to the Access Hollywood tape.

"Things like disgraces, disgusting, something along those lines," Hicks said in describing Romney's statement.

In the courtroom, Trump has been sitting slightly back in his chair for the bulk of Hicks' testimony. His body is angled slightly toward the witness stand to watch the testimony.

He appeared to be taking some handwritten notes while his lawyers attended a sidebar conference with the judge.