Hope Hicks, a former aide to Donald Trump, continued her testimony after the court returned from its lunch break Friday.
In all, she spoke for just under three hours, and her testimony concluded before court adjourned for the day.
Here's what you need to know about what she said.
About the Wall Street Journal article: After lunch, prosecutors resumed questioning regarding the Nov. 4, 2016 WSJ article. The article reported that the National Enquirer paid Karen McDougall for an article about her alleged affair with Trump, but did not publish it.
- “I believe I heard Mr. Trump talking to Mr. Cohen shortly after this article was published,” Hicks testified, adding that there was “nothing memorable” about the call with his former lawyer. he added. She said Reince Priebus was also in the car with her and Trump during the call with Michael Cohen. They were heading to a rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania, she said.
- Ms Hicks read the negative statement she issued in response to the article, calling the claims of an extramarital affair “absolutely false.” She acknowledged that President Trump instructed her to say so. She also testified that she monitored the press's reaction to the story and discussed it with Cohen.
- Hicks said Trump was concerned that his wife saw the article and that it could influence the presidential election. “Everything we talked about in the context of this period and this period was about whether there would be an impact on the campaign.”
A 2018 story about hush money to Stormy Daniels: Prosecutors showed the jury and court a 2018 Wall Street Journal article about the hush money payments.
- Hicks said she is not a White House official quoted in the article.
- She said Mr. Trump told her about the payment after Mr. Cohen told the New York Times that he had actually made the payment without Mr. Trump's knowledge.
- She testified that the idea that Mr. Cohen paid $130,000 himself was “unthinkable for Michael.”
tear up: After direct questioning ended and Trump's lawyer, Emil Bove, took the stage, Hicks began to tear up. She could be heard sniffling and she briefly left the courtroom.
Cross-examination: Returning to the stand, she told Bove that she had “trust and respect” for President Trump.
- She testified that Mr. Cohen tried to “insert himself” into the 2016 presidential campaign, even though he was “not supposed to participate in the campaign in an official capacity.” The lawyer added that while he was “not involved in day-to-day campaign strategy,” he was “misconducting” and taking actions that were not authorized by the Trump campaign and were frustrating the campaign.
- In connection with a November 4, 2016 WSJ article, she also told the defense that President Trump did not want his family to be hurt or embarrassed by what was happening on the campaign trail. .
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