‘This was a crisis’: Hope Hicks testifies about Trump campaign response to Access Hollywood tape – live | Donald Trump trials
‘It was a crisis’: Hicks describes the aftermath of the tape to Access Hollywood
Hugo Lowell
The prosecution snatched from Hope Hicks how badly the Trump campaign did in 2016 on the Access Hollywood tape, as they make their case that once this story broke, the campaign should have suppressed any other negative stories about Trump and women.
“It was a disastrous development,” Hicks said.
It was a crisis.
Asked if Hicks had considered whether it would be bad for women voters, she said: Not at this point. But maybe a few hours later or the next day.
Key events
Hope Hicks testifies that it has reached Michael Cohen and publisher of the National Enquirer David Packer after receiving an email from the Wall Street Journal requesting comment on a story it planned to publish about American Media buying the rights to a story by Karen McDougall about an affair she was having Donald Trump when he was married to Melania.
Hicks says Cohen “pretended he didn’t know what I was talking about” and that “there was a reason I called David [Pecker] next”.
She says Packer explained that McDougal “was paid for magazine articles and fitness columns and that it was all very legitimate and that was the purpose of the contract.”
asked the prosecution Hope Hicks for the days after the Access Hollywood tape was released.
Hicks explained directly that he was asked about the comments a few days later, during the second presidential debate.
He reiterated that these were locked-room talks – just talks – words, not actions.
The mantra of words, not deeds is extremely important for prosecutors. If Trump thought his best chance to survive the Access Hollywood scandal was to claim it was just talk — and that he wasn’t a real jerk — then he should have covered up the allegations of misconduct.
And after the debate, when reports of Trump’s alleged misconduct emerged, the campaign went into panic mode — providing Cohen with a motive to buy Daniels’ story.
Hicks: Karen McDougall first mentioned her after a November 2016 Wall Street Journal email
Hope Hicks testified that the first time he heard about the former Playboy model, Karen McDougall, was when she received an email from the Wall Street Journal on November 4, 2016, requesting comment on an article.
She says she received the email on Trump’s plane as they landed in Ohio for a campaign rally.
Hicks says it’s the first he’s heard Stormy Daniels a year earlier when Trump’s security officials were discussing a celebrity gold tournament “and her name came up.”
Hope Hicks said Donald Trump “definitely” considers Twitter an important part of its campaign.
She testified that the only people authorized to post on Trump’s Twitter account were Trump and an employee who was only allowed to post things that Trump personally approved.
Hope Hicks says she spoke to Michael Cohen on Saturday October 8. She says she called Cohen to ask him to “take down a rumor I’ve heard with a contact” she’s had in the media.
What was that rumor? asked the prosecution. Hicks replied:
That there may be another lane that is problematic for the campaign.
She explained:
I didn’t want anyone to be blindsided.
She asked Cohen to call this friend of his and ask about the existence of a tape and then report back if there was a tape and what was on it.
There was no such tape regardless, but he kind of chased it down for me.
Hope Hicks said the immediate media response to the Access Hollywood tape was “intense.” She says:
We were expecting a Category 4 hurricane to make landfall… No one remembered where it made landfall. It was Trump all along.
Hope Hicks testifies that she thinks Donald Trump felt the Access Hollywood tape was “relatively standard stuff from two guys just chatting”.
Trump believed it was “nothing to get upset about” and that it was “just two guys talking to each other in private,” Hicks says.
‘It was a crisis’: Hicks describes the aftermath of the tape to Access Hollywood
Hugo Lowell
The prosecution snatched from Hope Hicks how badly the Trump campaign did in 2016 on the Access Hollywood tape, as they make their case that once this story broke, the campaign should have suppressed any other negative stories about Trump and women.
“It was a disastrous development,” Hicks said.
It was a crisis.
Asked if Hicks had considered whether it would be bad for women voters, she said: Not at this point. But maybe a few hours later or the next day.
Hicks says she was “stunned” by the Access Hollywood tape
Hope Hicks says Donald Trump was upset after the Access Hollywood tape was released.
Hicks says she was “a bit stunned” herself. “It was definitely worrisome,” she said:
I had a good feeling this was going to be a massive story and hit the news cycle for at least the next few days.
Hope Hicks testifies to her and the campaign’s reaction after the tape was released on Access Hollywood.
She says campaign staff members were preparing for a debate when she received the Washington Post’s email requesting comment in response to the tape. Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Jared Kushner and Jason Miller were among them.
Trump saw that “something was going on” and asked the group what they were discussing, at which point she shared the Washington Post email with him. She said:
We still weren’t sure how to react, everyone was still absorbing the shock.
‘URGENT WashPost inquiry’: Hicks describes reaction to Access Hollywood tape
Hope Hicks was questioned about the Access Hollywood tape and the jury was shown the transcript of the tape.
Asked what her first reaction was when she received an email from a Washington Post reporter about the tape, she says she was “very concerned” about the content of the email and the lack of time to respond.
She says she forwarded the email with the subject line: “URGENT WashPost Inquiry” to others in the campaign.
Hope Hicks now she remembers times when she heard Donald Trump by phone with David Packer — a tabloid hotshot who prosecutors said conspired with Trump and Michael Cohen to bury stories that could damage his campaign.
Once, after the National Enquirer published a story about the then-Republican challenger Ben Carsonmedical malpractice, she overheard Trump “congratulating him on great reporting.”
He sometimes said that such things were worthy of a Pulitzer.
Hope Hicks testifies to this Donald Trump would call David Packer, the former publisher of the National Enquirer to praise him for “great reporting.”
“It’s Pulitzer-worthy,” Hicks said Trump would say to the Enquirer.
Hicks’ testimony cast Trump at the center of the news for him to control the narrative
Hope Hicks‘ testimony is giving Donald Trump at the center of the news about him – specifically how he actively works to control the narrative around him.
This speaks to how Trump would have knowledge of any hush money plot involving a media strategy.
Prosecutors are trying to show that Trump participated in and controlled the media during his campaign.
“How often did you speak with Mr. Trump as part of your role as press secretary?” asked prosecutor Matthew Colangelo. “Every day.”
“Did you talk on the phone?” “Yes.”
“Personal?” “Yes.”
Colangelo asked if Trump was involved? “He was very involved,” Hicks said.
“Who was overall in charge of the branding strategy?” Colangelo pressed. “I would say Mr. Trump is responsible.”
He knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it – we all just followed his lead.
He deserves credit for the different messages the campaign focused on in terms of the agenda he laid out.
‘We were all just following his lead’: Hicks says Trump ‘very involved’ in campaign and media backlash
Hope Hicks says she reported to Donald Trump directly in his role as press secretary during his campaign.
Asked how often she would speak to Trump during the campaign, Hicks said she spoke to Trump daily on the phone and in person.
Prosecutors questioned how involved Trump was in media reactions during his campaign. Hicks replies, “Very involved.” Asked how involved he was in overall messaging during the campaign, Trump said:
Mr Trump was responsible for this. He knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it, and we all just followed his lead. He deserves the credit.
