Hope Hicks, a former Trump campaign aide and White House press secretary, testified in the New York hush money trial on Friday, detailing her efforts to contain the damage after the “Access Hollywood” tape was released in October 2016.
The tape, which featured Trump making lewd comments about women, sparked widespread outrage and threatened to derail his presidential campaign. Hicks described the chaos that ensued, including a huddle with senior campaign aides to discuss how to respond.
Former Trump aide Hope Hicks (Credits: Sky News)
She also recounted Trump’s initial denial of the comments, followed by his later acknowledgment and dismissal of the remarks as “pretty standard stuff for two guys chatting.”
Hicks’ testimony is crucial to the Manhattan district attorney’s case, which alleges that Trump falsified business records to conceal hush money payments made to two women who claimed to have had affairs with him.
Hicks and Trump (Credits: NBC News)
Prosecutors argue that the payments were made to influence the 2016 election. Hicks’ testimony also touched on the fallout from the “Access Hollywood” tape, which prosecutors say increased the urgency to silence one of the women, Stormy Daniels, who was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump.
Hicks’ testimony supports the prosecution’s case that the hush money payments were part of a broader criminal conspiracy to influence the election corruptly.
