Former President Trump’s trial ended the week in a dramatic way as former aide Hope Hicks appeared as a witness.
Hicks, who worked as press secretary during the early, disorganized days of Trump’s first campaign for the presidency, later became his White House communications director.
It seems that the two have been distant since it was revealed — as part of the investigation into Jan. 6, 2021, by a House select committee — that Hicks was critical of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Her testimony on Friday in New York, where Trump is the first former president to face a criminal trial, was followed closely by jurors.
Trump faces 34 felony charges of falsifying business records. The charges stem from a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the final stages of the 2016 campaign.
The payment was made to Daniels to prevent her from making public the accusation that she had sex with Trump about a decade earlier.
The payment was made by Trump’s then-attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, who was later reimbursed through Trump’s businesses.
Prosecutors argue that the reimbursements were falsely labeled as legal expenses to hide their true purpose and motivation: protecting Trump’s hopes for the White House.
Trump denies having had sex with Daniels and denies any illegal activities.
These are the main points from Friday’s proceedings
Hicks revisits the turmoil of the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape
The shadow of what is known as the “Access Hollywood” tape, on which Trump was heard bragging about being able to grab women by the genitals, looms over the trial.
The tape surfaced about a month before Election Day in a major story from The Washington Post. The vulgarity of Trump’s comments was widely expected at the time to ruin his chances of defeating Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Clearly, those predictions were wrong. But prosecutors are arguing here that the tape was so damaging for Trump that he could not risk further explicit revelations, especially from an adult film actress.
On the stand, Hicks recounted receiving an advance email from the reporter with the “Access Hollywood” story, David Fahrenthold. The email contained a transcript of what Trump could be heard saying to TV host Billy Bush, but not the tape itself.
Hicks promptly emailed senior colleagues on the Trump campaign, saying that her instinct was to “Deny, deny deny.”
Hicks, not having heard the tape, was unsure if the transcript was real.
She then described Trump’s claim that the words did not sound like something he would say, but also that they were not unusual for two men talking crudely about women.
The media coverage after the story broke told a different tale, with Hicks recalling how “it was all Trump all the time for the next 36 hours.”
The tape is not the only important aspect of this case. But Hicks’s testimony on the subject was convincing due to its vivid depiction of the human drama and significant political stakes involved.
Hicks gives some optimism for her former employer
Hicks admitted from the beginning that she was “very nervous” to be testifying and, according to reporters in the courtroom, appeared uncomfortable at times.
She was required to testify in the case, following a subpoena.
Despite apparently no longer being in touch with Trump, one part of her testimony was beneficial to her ex-boss.
This time the focus was a Wall Street Journal article, just days before the election, exploring payments made to Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who claims she too had a relationship with Trump. (Trump denies this.)
Hicks, while being questioned by prosecutors, stated that Trump was concerned about how the story “would be perceived by his wife,” Melania.
Later, when the defense questioned Hicks, she elaborated on the point, saying that Trump “really, really respects” what Melania has to say; “I think he was just concerned of what her perception of this would be.”
This is a very important matter in the case.
The offense with which Trump is charged is typically a misdemeanor but it can be a felony, as alleged here, if it is committed in furtherance of another crime.
Prosecutors claim that the payment to Daniels was made for campaign purposes, so it amounts to election interference.
But if jurors are convinced that the money was actually paid to spare Trump personal embarrassment, the election interference element of the case falls apart.
Twelve years ago, former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards walked away without punishment after a jury essentially accepted his argument that payments made to a woman with whom he had an affair — and had fathered a child — were made for personal rather than electoral reasons.
Donald Trump, a subject deserving of a Pulitzer Prize
One of the lighter moments on Friday occurred when Hicks remembered conversations she overheard Trump have with former magazine magnate David Pecker.
Pecker, who has already given testimony in this case, is the former CEO of American Media Inc., the parent company of the tabloid National Enquirer among other titles.
Pecker noted in his testimony that during the 2016 campaign the National Enquirer had not only published stories favorable to Trump, but had also released negative pieces about his GOP rivals, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ben Carson.
According to Hicks, Trump would call to congratulate Pecker on some of these stories, which were essentially hit pieces.
Hicks said that Trump was “congratulating him on the great reporting” and would label some of the stories “deserving of a Pulitzer.”
Unfortunately for Trump and Pecker, the chances of Pulitzers being awarded for stories such as the imaginative suggestion that Cruz’s father was somehow linked to the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy were always slim.
Trump settles for violation of gag order
It wasn’t all about Hicks on Friday.
Proceedings began, as they have on several other days, on the topic of the gag order imposed upon Trump by Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the case.
A court official confirmed to the media that Trump has paid a $9,000 fine that was imposed by Merchan, representing nine breaches at $1,000 each. At the time he imposed the fine, Merchan lamented that he could not order a more meaningful financial penalty on Trump, who claims to be a billionaire.
Merchan on Friday also clarified the statement Trump made to the assembled media the day before, saying that the gag order did not stop him from testifying.
The order doesn't affect whether Trump will testify or not, as that decision is up to the former president.
The trial is now the most sought-after ticket for the media in town
There is a strong public interest in the case. The media's fascination with it may be even stronger.
On Friday, two well-known cable news hosts, Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC and Anderson Cooper of CNN, were in the courtroom.
The New York Times reported that O'Donnell, a strong critic of Trump, had also been present on Thursday and that Trump had “scowled at him at the end of the day.”
On Friday, the Times added, Trump said “a brisk ‘hello’” to Cooper in the morning.
