Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
'Keep praying,' about story, Hicks said she told Cohen
Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks said that she exchanged a series of text messages with Michael Cohen after the November 2016 Wall Street Journal story on the Karen McDougal agreement was published.
"Michael asked me to call him, Michael asked me for updates," Hicks said.
"'Lots of innuendos with little fact,'" Cohen wrote to Hicks the night the story was published. "'Poorly written and I doubt see it getting much play." Hicks said "doubt" was a typo and it should have read "don't."
In ensuing text messages, Cohen and Hicks said they had not noticed substantial interest in other media outlets.
"I told him to 'keep praying,' because this was obviously the only reason why there were six stories," Hicks said with a laugh.
May 03, 2024, 2:41 PM EDT
Hicks says Trump wanted denials of both alleged affairs
Donald Trump's longtime aide Hope Hicks returned to the stand following the lunch break for her ongoing direct examination.
Discussing her response after the Wall Street Journal told them it was about to break the story that National Enquirer parent AMI had paid Karen McDougal to buy her silence about a long-denied affair with Trump. Hicks said she ultimately provided a statement to the Journal that said the allegations were "totally untrue."
"The denial was from Mr. Trump for both women," Hicks testified, referring to both McDougal and Stormy Daniels, who was also mentioned in the Journal story. "I know very clearly that he stated the denials and wanted those included."
Hicks' statement to the Journal said she had no knowledge of the agreement between AMI and McDougal.
When prosecutors pressed Hicks on that portion of the statement, Hicks could not recall if Trump explicitly directed that statement to deny knowledge of the arrangement.
"I don't remember him verbatim saying that, but that was the consensus of the conversations we were all having," Hicks said.
May 03, 2024, 1:30 PM EDT
Trump, Hicks make no eye contact as court breaks for lunch
Donald Trump and Hope Hicks made no eye contact when Hicks got off the stand for the lunch break. Hicks looked down at the floor as she passed Trump sitting at the defense table, and he turned to the left to huddle with his attorneys as she went by.
The former president spent a good deal of the morning session looking away while his one-time closest aide testified.
During more than an hour of testimony from Hicks, Trump at times looked straight ahead, looked down at his tie, and closed his eyes. At one point his head rolled down and his chin hit his chest, remaining there for a few moments before it quickly snapped back up straight.
The former president hardly reacted to any of Hicks' testimony, save for when Hicks shared her own personal response to the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape.
"Just a little stunned," Hicks said of her initial reaction, prompting Trump to snap his head and whisper to his attorney, Todd Blanche.
In contrast to many other former Trump aides, Hicks has never spoken about Trump publicly before. The pair were often described as having a father-daughter relationship, with Trump calling her "Hopey".
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.
Former President Donald Trump sits with his attorneys Emil Bove (L) as he attends his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 3, 2024 in New York City.
Mark Peterson - Pool/Getty Images
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.
