Trump trial full coverage: Hope Hicks cries as Trump's lawyers begin cross-examination

The most gripping testimony on Friday came from former Trump aide Hope Hicks. She recounted her experience as Trump's communications director during the 2016 presidential campaign, including her efforts to minimize the damage caused by negative stories about Trump.

• Hicks testified about an email she sent to campaign staffers regarding the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape in which Trump boasted about being able to sexually assault women. “Deny, deny, deny," Hicks wrote in regards to questions of the tape's veracity.

• She also recounted telling the Wall Street Journal that it was "absolutely, unequivocally" untrue that Trump had sex with adult film actress Stormy Daniels. She made that statement at Trump's direction, she told the jury.

• But Hicks also portrayed former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump, as a "rogue" employee. “He liked to call himself a fixer, or Mr. Fix-it, and it was only because he first broke it.”

• As Trump's lawyers began their cross-examination of Hicks, she began crying, leading Judge Juan Merchan to dismiss the jury and call for a short break.

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Speaking to reporters after leaving the courtroom at his hush money trial on Friday, Trump said he was not allowed to comment on any of the day's proceedings.

"As you know, I am under a gag order," he said before launching into a brief monologue railing against the ongoing criminal cases against him.

"It's a terrible, terrible thing happening in our country," he added. "And hopefully Nov. 5 — the most important day in the history of our country, in my opinion, that's called Election Day — hopefully it's going to change., because these people are destroying our country."

The defense concluded its cross-examination of Hope Hicks, and the prosecution had no further questions.

After briefly consulting with attorneys from both sides, Judge Merchan informed the jury that court was adjourned until Monday.

Under cross-examination, Hicks testified that Michael Cohen tried to "insert himself" into Trump's 2016 campaign.

Hicks, who served as the campaign's spokeswoman, said that Cohen "wasn’t supposed to be on the campaign in any official capacity" and wasn't looped in on day-to-day strategy.

Instead, he would often go "rogue," she said.

"He liked to call himself a fixer, or Mr. Fix It," she added, according to CNN. "And it was only because he first broke it that he was able to then fix it."

The New York Times described Hicks as "still looking fairly upset" as she returned from the break. Bove picked up his cross-examination, beginning with questions about Hicks's relationships with the Trump family and her first job at the Trump Organization.

When Trump attorney Emil Bove began to ask Hicks about her time at the Trump Organization, she started to cry.

Bove asked for a break and Judge Merchan agreed and stepped out. Hicks and the prosecutors also exited.

Back on the stand, Hope Hicks was asked if Trump told her what to say in the statement she gave to the Wall Street Journal in November 2016 for a story about Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels.

In the article, Hicks is quoted "unequivocally" denying that Trump had a relationship with Daniels.

Hicks confirmed on the stand that Trump told her to say that.

On Thursday, the jury heard a 2016 audio recording made secretly by Trump's former lawyer and "fixer" Michael Cohen of Trump discussing the hush money deals they made with former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who was about to go public with a story of her alleged affair with Trump. On the tape, Cohen can be heard telling Trump, “I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David,” in reference to then-National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who paid McDougal $150,000 as part of an arrangement to bury negative stories about Trump during the 2016 campaign.

The court released the audio of the recording on Thursday evening.

After a 75-minute lunch break, the trial has resumed, with Hope Hicks returning to the witness stand.

Court is in recess for lunch and will resume at approximately 2:15 p.m. ET.

Hope Hicks testified that she first heard of Karen McDougal on Nov. 4, 2016, when Michael Rothfeld at the Wall Street Journal reached out. She said she forwarded Rothfeld's email to Jared Kushner because of his relationship with Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Wall Street Journal.

Hicks said she had heard of Stormy Daniels once before Rothfeld's email. She said that in 2015 she overheard security on Trump's plane telling a story about a celebrity golf tournament and that Daniels's name was mentioned.

Before the trial, Judge Juan Merchan denied a request by the prosecution to enter the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape into evidence, saying it would be prejudicial to do so. Merchan did, however, allow for discussion of the tape, which is why prosecutors are now asking Hope Hicks about it.

Hope Hicks, now being questioned about the "Access Hollywood" tape, recalls the email she received from then-Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold on Oct. 7, 2016.

"I was concerned. I was concerned about the contents of the email," she said. "I was concerned about the lack of time to respond. I was concerned we had a transcript without a tape. There was a lot at play."

Hicks added that she forwarded the email, which was shown to the jury, to campaign leadership, including Jason Miller, David Bossie, Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon. The New York Times reported that in her email forward she says, "Need to hear the tape to be sure" and "Deny, deny, deny."

?? Big picture: The Washington Post article made the "Access Hollywood" story public. It was damaging to Trump's campaign and influenced Trump's decision to pay Stormy Daniels $130,000.

Hope Hicks detailed Trump's praises of David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer. Pecker was the first witness called by the prosecution.

The National Enquirer had run stories on Trump's GOP competitors Dr. Ben Carson and Ted Cruz. Hicks claimed that Trump had called Pecker to congratulate him on the "great reporting" and said, "This is Pulitzer-worthy," the New York Times reported.

During her testimony for the prosecution, Hope Hicks spoke highly of Trump, describing her former boss as a “very good multitasker” and “a very hard worker” who had his hands in just about everything, particularly at the Trump Organization, before he became president.

“Everybody that works there in some sense reports to Mr. Trump,” she testified, per the Associated Press. “It’s a big successful company, but it’s really run like a small family business in some ways.”

Hicks also said that as his campaign secretary, she would “absolutely” check with him before issuing statements to the press.

Earlier this week, the former president was ordered to pay $9,000 by Judge Merchan for violating a gag order that prevents him from attacking witnesses and court staff.

The Associated Press reported that Trump paid the fine on Thursday, a day before Friday's deadline.

According to the news service, Trump’s legal team "supplied the court clerk’s office with two cashier’s checks, one in the amount of $2,000 and one for $7,000."

Merchan has yet to rule on four additional alleged violations of the gag order. He heard arguments from both sides Thursday.

Reporters in the courtroom keep mentioning how alert Trump is and how his “eyes are glued" to Hicks as she testifies. CNN noted that Hicks seems to be avoiding making eye contact with him.

Following observations from reporters that Trump appears to be falling asleep during the trial, the former president posted on Truth Social yesterday that he doesn't fall asleep in court but rather, "I simply close my beautiful blue eyes, sometimes, listen intensely, and take it ALL in!!!"

Moments after being called to the witness stand, Hope Hicks admitted that she was "really nervous."

Hicks is testifying under a subpoena and is paying for her attorney. According to reporters at the courthouse, Hicks said she has not spoken to Trump since 2022 and confirmed they currently have no professional relationship.

Prosecutors have called Hope Hicks, Trump's longtime former aide and ex-communications director, as its next witness.

Hicks served as Trump’s 2016 campaign press secretary and according prosecutors spoke with Trump by phone about his efforts to shield the public from stories of his alleged extramarital in the weeks leading up to the election.

She held various titles in the Trump White House, including communications director, before stepping down in 2018.

After a brief recess, the trial resumed with the prosecution playing for the jury a tweeted video of Trump's response to the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape in which he bragged about grabbing women's genitalia.

"Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am," Trump said in the video. "I was wrong, and I apologize."

Just before the break, the defense agreed to a "stipulation" to allow a Washington Post article about the tape to be introduced without the need to call a witness.