Hope Hicks, once a top aide to Donald Trump, testified on Friday that during the final days of the 2016 presidential election, the former president instructed her to deny that he had a sexual encounter with porn star Stormy Daniels.
Hope Hicks, Former Top Aide of Donald Trump, Testifies in His Hush Money Trial
According to Reuters, Hope Hicks' testimony shed light on the campaign's efforts to manage damaging accusations of sexual misconduct against Donald Trump as the 2016 presidential election drew near.
Trump, who pleaded not guilty in April, is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide the reimbursement of the $130,000 hush money payment made by Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, to Stormy Daniels.
Cohen allegedly arranged the payment days leading up to the 2016 election to silence the porn star about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump in 2006, which the former president denied.
According to Hicks, she informed Trump four days before the November 2016 election about the upcoming publication of Daniels' story by the Wall Street Journal.
The former president was reportedly concerned about his wife, Melania Trump, seeing the story and asked Hicks to ensure that newspapers were not delivered to their residence that morning.
Historic Hush Money Criminal Trial of Donald Trump
The prosecution in this historic trial argued that the payment to Stormy Daniels influenced the election outcome by suppressing critical news that could have swayed voters toward Donald Trump.
Hope Hicks, who served as the campaign press secretary at that time, noted that Trump was keen on denying any relationship with Daniels.
She also said the former president told her that Michael Cohen paid off Daniels without his knowledge to "protect him from a false allegation" out of "kindness," which, according to her, was "out of character" for the lawyer as she did not know that he was a "charitable" or "selfless person."
Hicks, during her testimony, teared up briefly. Prosecutors claimed that Trump's efforts to conceal payments violate election and tax laws, which elevates the 34 counts from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Despite its salacious nature, the case is deemed less consequential compared to Trump's other criminal cases, which include his attempt to overturn his 2020 presidential defeat and alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office. The former president has also pleaded not guilty to all of those.
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