Here are the takeaways from day 11 of Trump's hush money trial:
Hicks describes the tape as a “crisis” and denies Daniels' accusations: After taking the witness stand, former Donald Trump campaign press secretary and White House communications director Hope Hicks appeared visibly uncomfortable and quickly acknowledged it as she began answering questions. “I'm very nervous,” she said.
Much of Hicks' testimony focused on her role in the Trump campaign in October 2016, just before Election Day. Prosecutors asked what happened when the “Access Hollywood” tape came out. “The tape was harmful. This was a crisis,” Hicks said.
The fallout from the tape informed how the campaign responded when the Wall Street Journal reported on Karen McDougal's agreement with American Media, Inc. not to discuss an alleged affair as part of a $150,000 settlement.
In the WSJ article, which also mentioned Daniels, Hicks, then a spokesperson for Trump's campaign, denied that Trump had had affairs with any of the women. “What I told the Wall Street Journal is what they told me,” Hicks said of her denial of Daniels' allegations.
When the prosecutors finished their questions and Trump's lawyer took the podium, Hicks began to cry and seemed become overwhelmed. He finished his testimony after a brief pause.
Cross-examining Hicks, Trump's lawyer, Emil Bove, elicited testimony that Trump was also worried about what his wife would think. Trump asked that the newspapers not be delivered to his residence on the day the story was published, Hicks testified.
Jury hears how Trump responded to 'Access Hollywood' tape: Jurors saw a full transcript of the “Access Hollywood” tape on Friday, including Trump's infamous “grab them by the pussy” comment, as well as other vulgar language that the campaign attempted to dismiss as “locker room talk.” However, they did not hear Trump on the tape, as the judge ruled that the video would be prejudicial to the jury.
Prosecutors get closer to the crime: For two weeks, prosecutors have delved into the negotiations that led to money payments made to McDougal and Daniels before the 2016 election. But those payments are not illegal on their own. Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records stemming from how he allegedly concealed how Cohen was reimbursed for paying Daniels $130,000 to keep her quiet before the 2016 election. With Hicks' testimony, prosecutors moved closer more to the refund and the alleged charges.
The attacks against Michael Cohen continue: Trump's legal team continued its trial-long attack on Michael Cohen's credibility on Friday, going after everything from way in which he He handled his cell phones about how he would go “rogue” during the 2016 campaign.
