Former Trump campaign press secretary and White House communications director Hope Hicks testified on Friday in the New York criminal trial of the former president – and her testimony outlining Trump's hands-on leadership could help prosecutors make their case that Trump falsified business records to hide embarrassing information ahead of the 2016 election.
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Hicks discussed her key role in meetings and made clear that she "reported to Mr. Trump," who, she said, closely managed his communications strategy. Multiple news outlets, including The New York Times, reported that Hicks said she was "very concerned" about the "Access Hollywood" tape in which Trump brought up about grabbing women by their genitals. The audio clip was published in October — a month before the election.
“I was concerned,” Hicks said Friday. “Very concerned. Yeah. 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 but not a tape. There was a lot at play."
Trump's defense, meanwhile, used their cross examination to ask Hicks questions about Cohen's informal role with the campaign and Trump's concern about his wife Melania's reaction to the "Access Hollywood" tape.
“He liked to call himself a fixer, or Mr. Fix-it, and it was only because he first broke it,” Hicks said, according to The Times. Hicks also said of Cohen: "He would try to insert himself at certain moments."
Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, with prosecutors saying he was part of a scheme to kill damaging stories about extramarital affairs ahead of his 2016 campaign. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleged that Trump went to "great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws."
Trump denies those charges, plus the affairs. Each count is punishable by up to four years behind bars.