FORMER White House staffer Hope Hicks took the stand during Donald Trump’s secret trial, recounting the Access Hollywood tape and hoping the former president wanted to protect his wife from being harmed.
The former Trump cabinet member’s testimony marks the end of the second week of his trial.
7
7
Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for covering up a secret payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The pair allegedly had an affair in 2006.
Hicks, a former White House official, testified on Friday, revealing the concerns his campaign had over the infamous Access Hollywood tape, according to The Associated Press.
The tape was recorded in 2005, but was only seen publicly almost 11 years later, in 2016, a month before election day.
Hicks recalled the day he discovered the story from a Washington Post reporter and the frenzy that ensued among Trump’s advisers.
“I had the good sense to believe that this would be a huge story and that it would dominate the news cycle for the next few days,” Hicks testified, according to the AP.
“This was a harmful development.”
She also said. “It was just pulling us back in a way that was going to be hard to overcome.”
The scandal was quickly denied, as the former president insisted.
“He wanted to make sure there was a denial of any kind of relationship,” Hicks said according to The Guardian.
Prosecutors called her to the witness stand to bolster their case that Trump engaged in illegal activities to influence the 2016 election by withholding information about his personal life.
Hicks, however, said he believes his actions were to protect his family.
“I don’t think he wanted anyone in his family to be hurt or embarrassed by anything that was going on during the campaign. He wanted them to be proud of him,” she said, according to CNN.
When the Wall Street Journal published a story revealing former Playboy model Karen McDougal’s affair allegations shortly before the election, Hicks claimed that Trump was concerned about his wife seeing the paper.
Recent Trump Hush Money Trial Updates
During the second week of Trump’s trial, a recording between Donald Trump and lawyer Michael Cohen, allegedly talking about the secret payment, was played for the jury.
On the tape, Trump tells his former lawyer Michael Cohen that the money should be paid in cash.
Prosecutors say this is related to the $150,000 paid to Karen McDougal just weeks before the 2016 election to keep quiet about her affair with Trump.
The recording was secretly made on September 6, 2016, by Cohen while he was arguing with the tabloid National Enquirer.
He wanted to buy the rights to the story from McDougal, who was Playboy Playmate of the Year in 1998.
In the recording, before speaking to Cohen, Trump can be heard talking to someone named ‘Pam’.
“Maybe it would be better if you didn’t come. Because of this. It’s so false what they’re saying. What shit,” Trump says, but it’s not clear what he’s referring to.
Cohen comes in and says, “I need to set up a company to transfer all this information from our friend David, you know, so that – I’m going to do it right now.”
Trump responds: “So how much do we have to pay for this? 150?”
“Yes. And that’s all,” says Cohen.
“He wanted me to make sure the newspapers were [not] delivered to his residence that morning,” Hicks said, according to The Guardian.
Hicks had difficulty testifying on Friday, breathing heavily as she spoke into the microphone and expressing in a shaky voice that she was “very nervous,” according to the AP.
She later began crying, forcing the court to take a short break.
Other evidence presented this week was a recording between Trump and lawyer Michael Cohen allegedly talking about paying hush money to a former Playboy model.
Testimony will resume on Monday.
The trial could last another month or more as key witnesses, including Cohen and Daniels, have yet to appear.
7
7
7
7
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
