NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Hope Hicks, who served as Donald Trump鈥檚 2016 campaign press secretary and went on to hold various roles in his White House, took the witness stand in his New York hush money case on Friday.
Her testimony on was the latest in a frenzied second week of witness testimony and followed that of forensic analyst Douglas Daus and paralegal Georgia Longstreet.
Lawyer Keith Davidson concluded after spending nearly 6 1/2 hours on the stand over two days. He laid out for jurors details of his negotiations with Michael Cohen and the National Enquirer on behalf of Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, not shying away from an election night realization that his efforts might have contributed to Trump's 2016 win.
Daus also took the stand that day, testifying about what he found on Cohen's cellphone. Among other things, Daus said Cohen had nearly 40,000 contacts saved to the device.
Prosecutors have said that Trump and others conducted a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by purchasing and burying salacious stories that might hurt his campaign.
Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records to cover up hush money payments 鈥� including $130,000 given to Daniels, a porn actor, by Cohen 鈥� recording them instead as legal expenses.
Trump has to of falsifying business records.
The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president and the to reach a jury.
Currently:
鈥� Donald Trump moves much of his White House campaign
鈥� Key players: Who鈥檚 who at Donald Trump鈥檚
鈥� The hush money case is just one of Trump鈥檚 legal cases. See
鈥� Trial begins for financial executive in tied to taking Trump media firm public
Here's the latest:
JURY GIVEN TRUMP RESPONSES TO 鈥楢CCESS HOLLYWOOD鈥� TAPE
Before Hope Hicks took the stand on Friday, the court saw and heard some of Donald Trump鈥檚 responses to the release of the 鈥淎ccess Hollywood鈥� tape in October 2016.
They included a video he posted to Twitter, now known as the social platform X, in which he apologized and called the video a 鈥渄istraction from important issues we face today,鈥� and a tweet in which he called his comments in the 2005 video 鈥渓ocker room remarks.鈥�
Jurors also heard about a March 2023 Truth Social post in which Trump said he 鈥渄id nothing wrong鈥� and included a derogatory nickname for Stormy Daniels. In the post, he referred to Michael Cohen, his ex-lawyer, as a 鈥渃onvicted liar and felon jailbird鈥� and stated: 鈥淣ever had an affair with her. Just another false acquisition by a sleazebag.鈥�
In another social media post, he maintained 鈥淣othing ever happened with these women鈥� and 鈥淣o one has more respect for women than me.鈥�
HICKS DETAILS FOLLOWING TRUMP FROM REAL ESTATE TO POLITICS
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo used the start of Hope Hicks鈥� testimony Friday to give jurors a window into Donald Trump鈥檚 real estate company, the Trump Organization, including its personnel and even the physical layout of its offices.
Colangelo also quizzed her on other Trump Organization figures, including Trump鈥檚 longtime bodyguard Keith Schiller, his former executive assistant Rhona Graff, ex-chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg and ex-lawyer turned key trial figure Michael Cohen. He also asked her to describe what she meant by the 鈥�26th floor,鈥� the section of Trump Tower where Trump and other executives had their offices.
Hicks also described the sudden transition from working for the Trump Organization to working for Trump鈥檚 presidential campaign.
鈥淢r. Trump one day said we鈥檙e going to Iowa and I didn鈥檛 really know why,鈥� Hicks recalled.
When Trump later said she would be his press secretary, Hicks said her first thought was that he 鈥渕ight be joking.鈥�
鈥淚 had no experience and worked at the company, not the campaign, so I didn鈥檛 take it very seriously,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ventually I started spending so much time on the campaign that I became a member of the campaign and I was the press secretary.鈥�
HICKS CALLS TRUMP 鈥楢 VERY HARD WORKER鈥�
After taking the stand in Donald Trump's hush money trial Friday morning, Hope Hicks spoke about the former president in glowing terms, complimenting him multiple times in the first few minutes of her testimony.
She described him as a 鈥渧ery good multi-tasker, a very hard worker.鈥�
Asked by prosecutor Matthew Colangelo who she reported to while working as communications director for the Trump Organization, Hicks said, 鈥淓verybody that works there in some sense reports to Mr. Trump. It鈥檚 a big successful company but it鈥檚 really run like a small family business in some ways.鈥�
Hicks, who currently has her own communications consulting firm, is testifying under a subpoena and, unlike other former Trump employees, is paying her lawyers herself.
FORMER TRUMP ADVISER HOPE HICKS TAKES THE STAND
Hope Hicks, who served as Donald Trump鈥檚 2016 campaign press secretary and went on to hold various roles in his White House, took the witness stand in his New York hush money case on Friday.
Her testimony on was the latest in a frenzied second week of witness testimony and followed that of forensic analyst Douglas Daus and paralegal Georgia Longstreet.
TRUMP PAYS GAG ORDER FINE
Donald Trump has paid for violating the gag order in his hush money criminal trial.
The former president paid the penalty Thursday, ahead of a Friday deadline. Trump鈥檚 legal team supplied the court clerk鈥檚 office with two cashier鈥檚 checks 鈥� one for $2,000 and one for $7,000.
Judge Juan M. Merchan ordered Trump to pay the fine after holding him in contempt of court and finding that posts he made online about his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen, porn actor Stormy Daniels and the composition of the jury had violated the gag order.
Merchan is currently weighing a prosecution request to hold Trump in contempt again and fine him $1,000 for each of four more alleged violations from last week. Merchan has warned Trump that he could be jailed if he keeps breaching the gag order.
PARALEGAL SAYS SHE USED NATIONAL ARCHIVES TO VERY TRUMP'S SOCIAL ACCOUNTS
A government agency at the heart of Donald Trump鈥檚 got a name drop at his New York hush money trial on Friday.
Georiga Longstreet testified that she used the National Archives and Records Administration鈥檚 archive of the official presidential account on Twitter, now known as the social platform X, to help verify the authenticity of Trump鈥檚 account.
Longstreet noted that Trump鈥檚 official government account, @POTUS45, frequently reposted posts from Trump鈥檚 @realdonaldtrump account.
There was no visible reaction from Trump to the mention of the National Archives, whose pursuit of records he took from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after his 2020 election loss led to charges alleging that he illegally hoarded classified documents.
PARALEGAL FROM MANHATTAN DA'S OFFICE CALLED TO THE STAND
Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal with the Manhattan district attorney's office, was called as the next witness in Donald Trump's hush money case on Friday.
She has been assigned to the Trump case for the past year and a half and her role has been to review publicly available records relevant to the case, including Trump鈥檚 social media accounts on the social platform X 鈥� formerly known as Twitter 鈥� Facebook, LinkedIn and Truth Social.
DEFENSE RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT KEY RECORDING PLAYED IN COURT
Picking up where he left off on Thursday, Trump attorney Emil Bove plied Douglas Daus, the forensic analyst, with a set of deeply technical questions Friday meant to suggest that Michael Cohen may have doctored a 2016 recording played in court the previous day.
As evidence, Bove noted that the audio cuts off suddenly, as well as 鈥済aps鈥� in the handling of the phone that Daus agreed were 鈥渘ot ideal.鈥�
Prosecutors say the abrupt ending of the recording was the result of Cohen receiving another call. Under questioning from Bove, Daus said there was no record of an incoming call in the phone鈥檚 metadata 鈥� but said it would be difficult to say for sure without looking at call log data from Cohen鈥檚 phone carrier.
鈥淚n many ways, we鈥檙e just going to have to take Michael Cohen鈥檚 word for it, aren鈥檛 we?鈥� Bove said.
鈥淵es,鈥� Daus replied.
With that, Bove concluded his cross-examination.
TRUMP'S ATTORNEY INVOKES 鈥榃EINSTEIN DECISION鈥� TO KEEP OUT EVIDENCE
Before testimony resumed in Donald Trump's hush money trial, Judge Juan M. Merchan ruled to prevent prosecutors from showing the jury a photograph of Trump with Billy Bush and soap opera actor Arianne Zucker at the time of the .
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche had asked for the image to be excluded from the trial, pointing to a recent overturning Harvey Weinstein鈥檚 rape conviction. In that case, the appeals court ordered a retrial because the judge had allowed testimony at trial unrelated to the allegations.
Merchan said the appeals court decision 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 really factor into this鈥� case, noting that the ruling had not laid out any new law, but nevertheless agreed to block prosecutors from introducing the photograph.
Prosecutors had said the image would help establish the timeline of the revelations about the 鈥淎ccess Hollywood鈥� tape, in which Trump could be heard bragging about grabbing women without permission.
Merchan has previously ruled the 2005 tape cannot be played in court for jurors, but said prosecutors can still question witnesses about the recording.
FORENSIC ANALYST RETURNS TO THE STAND
Trump lawyer Emil Bove on Friday morning resumed cross-examination questioning of Douglas Daus, a forensic analyst at the Manhattan district attorney鈥檚 office who extracted recordings, text messages and other evidence from two of Michael Cohen鈥檚 iPhones.
JUDGE CLARIFIES THAT GAG ORDER WON'T STOP TRUMP FROM TESTIFYING
Judge Juan M. Merchan started the trial day also by clarifying that Donald Trump鈥檚 gag order doesn鈥檛 prohibit him from testifying on his own behalf, apparently responding to comments the former president made after court the day before.
鈥淭he order restricting extrajudicial statements does not prevent you from testifying in any way,鈥� Merchan said, adding that the order does not in any way limit what Trump says on the witness stand.
Merchan directed his comments to Trump and his lawyers, saying it had come to his attention that there may have been a 鈥渕isunderstanding鈥� regarding the order.
TRUMP SPEAKS ABOUT GAG ORDER, TESTIFYING
Speaking to reporters before heading into court on Friday, Donald Trump clarified comments he made the day before about his gag order, saying it does not stop him from testifying in the case but it does keep him from 鈥渢alking about people and responding when they say things about me.鈥�
After court adjourned on Thursday, Trump had responded to questions about what he鈥檇 thought of the day鈥檚 testimony.
鈥淚鈥檓 not allowed to testify. I鈥檓 under a gag order,鈥� he said, causing some confusion. The gag order bars him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the case.
He also commented on showing that U.S. employers scaled back hiring in April and said they鈥檙e 鈥渉orrible.鈥�
TRUMP ARRIVES AT COURTHOUSE
Donald Trump has arrived at the courthouse in Manhattan for the 11th day of his hush money trial.
HOPE HICKS COULD TESTIFY AS SOON AS TODAY
Hope Hicks, who served as Donald Trump's 2016 campaign press secretary and went on to hold various roles in his White House, could testify in his hush money trial as early as Friday.
The two people who described her forthcoming appearance to The Associated Press insisted on anonymity to discuss internal trial preparations.
Hicks spoke with Trump by phone during a frenzied effort to keep his alleged affairs out of the press in the final weeks before the election.
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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this report.
COHEN'S PRESENCE FELT IN COURTROOM VIA TESTIMONY AND AUDIO RECORDINGS
Despite not yet having testified in Donald Trump's hush money case, Michael Cohen has been very present in the courtroom 鈥� in audio recordings of conversations he had and in witness testimony.
On Thursday, jurors heard a taped call between Cohen and Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels' former attorney, wherein Cohen could be heard telling Davidson about a conversation he'd had with someone believed to be Trump.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 even tell you how many times he said to me, 鈥榊ou know, I hate the fact that we did it.鈥� And my comment to him was, 鈥楤ut every person that you鈥檝e spoken to told you it was the right move,鈥欌�� Cohen said in the recording.
The panel also heard a recording of Cohen on the plan to buy former Playboy model Karen McDougal鈥檚 story. That particular recording included Cohen detailing that he'd spoken to then-Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg about 鈥渉ow to set the whole thing up with funding.鈥�
Cohen, who is the prosecution's star witness, was Trump's lawyer and personal fixer at the time.
JURORS WILL GET EARLY DISMISSAL FRIDAY
Court proceedings in Donald Trump's hush money case will end early on Friday to accommodate an important appointment one of the jurors has in the late afternoon.
Judge Juan M. Merchan announced the scheduling change just before adjourning court on Thursday. Court will end at 3:45 p.m. Friday, about 45 minutes earlier than normal.
TRUMP EXPECTED IN COURT AS TRIAL ENTERS 11TH DAY
Donald Trump is expected to return to court Friday morning for the 11th day of his hush money trial as the second week of witness testimony wraps up.
Thursday's proceedings saw the former president facing yet another contempt hearing, this time over four more prospective violations of his gag order.
While Judge Juan M. Merchan did not immediately rule on the sanctions request from prosecutors, he told defense attorneys he was concerned about three of the potential violations 鈥� including comments that Trump made about the political makeup of the jury. Merchan said he wasn't worried about a comment Trump made last week calling former Enquirer publisher David Pecker a 鈥渘ice guy.鈥�
Prosecutors said they were only seeking fines and not jail time over the potential violations.
Trump is barred under a gag order from speaking publicly about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the case. He was fined $9,000 on Tuesday over nine online posts.
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The introduction has been updated to correct the spelling of the last name of forensic analyst Douglas Daus, from Daul.
The Associated Press
