CNN
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Hope Hicks, once considered one of Donald Trump’s closest friends and most trusted aides, will be called to testify in his criminal trial related to hush-money payments, according to people familiar with the case. That’s the outlook.
Hicks is one of several witnesses in the former president’s inner circle expected to take the stand, although nothing is finalized until the trial begins, which is expected to begin later this month. In addition to former fixer and lawyer Michael Cohen, other members of Trump’s inner circle from the 2016 presidential campaign, including those who worked on his presidential campaign, are also likely to be on the prosecution’s witness list.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to comment. Hicks did not respond to a request for comment.
As CNN previously reported, Hicks appeared before a grand jury last year, as did Kellyanne Conway, before Trump was indicted. Hicks served as President Trump’s press secretary during the campaign and was able to shed light on what was going on inside the political operation in the final weeks before the 2016 election. Mr. Cohen had kept adult film star Stormy Daniels silent about an affair that Mr. Trump was concerned about. Upend his presidential campaign. President Trump paid compensation to Cohen after he took office, but he has since been indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records. The former president has maintained his innocence and denied that he had an extramarital affair.
According to a federal search warrant issued in 2019, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said they wanted to prevent further allegations of a sexual nature from becoming public after the “Access Hollywood” tape was released. The findings show that there was a mad scramble within the Trump campaign to stop it. It was released in fall 2016.
At the time, Mr. Hicks called Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump joined him, according to the documents. From there, as an intermediary, Mr. Cohen was involved in at least 10 phone calls that day, including one involving Mr. Trump and Mr. Hicks, as well as American Media executives David Pecker and Dylan Howard. There were some in which he was involved. AMI owns the tabloid National Enquirer.
According to the documents, FBI officials believe these conversations were clearly about adult film actress Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford.
According to released records, during Hicks’ testimony before the House Judiciary Committee shortly before the documents were released, Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee told her that Trump and Cohen were discussing Stormy Daniels. He was asked multiple times if he had ever been with him, to which he answered “no.” Closed door interview.
Hicks also said she had no other information about Daniels other than what she heard from reporters.
“Again, I didn’t know anything about Stormy Daniels other than to say that her name would come up in people buying articles,” Hicks testified. “The reporter didn’t provide us with any specific information, and we didn’t have any information other than what the reporter told us.”
Hicks’ expected inclusion on the witness list was confirmed on Monday by the judge overseeing the trial after the former president made critical comments about the judge’s daughter in recent days. This comes after the gag order was extended to family members of the courtroom and the Manhattan district attorney.
“The average observer, after hearing the defendant’s recent attacks, concludes that if you become even tangentially involved in these lawsuits, you should be concerned not only for yourself, but also for your loved ones. must be decided,” wrote Judge Juan Melchan. . “Such concerns undoubtedly impede the fair administration of justice and constitute a direct attack on the rule of law itself.”
This article has been updated with additional reporting.
