Ex-Trump aide Hope Hicks' testimony may include conversations with Michael Cohen in NY trial
In the month before the 2016 presidential election, as Donald Trump's campaign scrambled to contain the fallout from a recording of him lewdly discussing grabbing women, Trump's campaign press secretary Hope Hicks was in frequent contact with his lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen.
Now that she is on the witness stand, Hicks could testify about those conversations in the former president's New York criminal business fraud trial because Cohen says he paid two women on Trump's behalf to stop more salacious stories from emerging.
Experts believe her testimony could be intended to bolster Cohen's credibility, as his reliability as a witness is questioned by Trump and his defense team.
Trump is charged with falsifying business records to hide reimbursements to Cohen for paying off the two women to prevent them from publicizing claims of sexual encounters with him. Trump has pleaded not guilty and he denies the affairs.
Hicks has previously told Congress under oath that she was trying to defuse a scandalous story before the 2016 election, but has testified she didn't know the details of the payments.
“I wasn’t aware of a hush payment agreement,” Hicks told the House Judiciary Committee in June 2019, during an investigation of election interference.
Hicks: 'a little bit of shock' after release of 'Access Hollywood' tape
Payments to quiet former porn actress Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, became urgent for the campaign after The Washington Post published a story on Oct. 7, 2016, about the “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Trump boasted of kissing and groping women without their consent.
Cohen has already pleaded guilty and been imprisoned on charges including a campaign finance violation for arranging the payments.
David Pecker and Dylan Howard, executives at National Enquirer publisher American Media, paid McDougal for her life story and never published it, under what was called a "catch-and-kill" policy, according to Cohen's testimony. The publication's officials have denied such a policy. Cohen reimbursed American Media for the payment to McDougal. Pecker is a longtime ally of Trump's.
Hicks told the House panel she was aware of Cohen working to prevent the potential scandal from emerging weeks before the election, but that she was not aware of the payments.
Hicks could provide a campaign perspective on efforts to block stories about Trump's alleged affairs after the release of the "Access Hollywood” tape. Trump initially faced intense criticism from even fellow Republicans for his comments ? which included saying in vulgar terms that he grabs women by their genitals and that he tried to seduce a married woman.
"I obviously knew that it was going to be a challenge from a communications standpoint," Hicks told lawmakers.
Asked if Trump was upset as news of the recording broke, Hicks replied, "Yes. I think everybody was in, like, a little bit of shock."
Flurry of calls with Hicks as Cohen arranged hush payments: court records
Prosecutors could use Hicks' close communication with Cohen to illustrate how the campaign tried to prevent a damaging story, which Cohen said was accomplished through payments.
Hicks had a rapid-fire series of calls with Cohen in October 2016 as he negotiated payments to stave off stories about the women, according to court records. Then there were more calls in November 2016 ? days before the election ? as news of a payment to one woman broke.
An FBI affidavit submitted to obtain a search warrant for Cohen’s home and electronic devices revealed a number of calls between Hicks and Cohen – some while he was on a second phone with National Enquirer executives.
On the day after the story broke, Hicks and Cohen spoke three times by phone, including once with Trump joining the call. Cohen also spoke to Pecker of American Media during that period.
“Keith will do it,” Howard told Cohen in a text message at 9:13 p.m., referring to Daniels’ lawyer, Keith Davidson. “Let’s reconvene tomorrow.”
After some financial maneuvering, Cohen transferred $130,000 to Davidson on Oct. 27, 2016. Davidson then transferred $96,645 to Daniels on Nov. 1, 2016, with the annotation “net settlement” on the wire transfer.
More calls between Hicks and Cohen as news breaks about McDougal
Another cluster of calls erupted a few days before the election, as news broke linking Trump to McDougal, according to the FBI affidavit.
On Nov. 4, 2016, Cohen communicated several times between 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. with Howard, Pecker and Davidson, who represented both Daniels and McDougal. Cohen also spoke with Hicks several times before and after the calls with the others.
“Indeed, at approximately 7:33 p.m., using two different cellphones subscribed to him, Cohen appears to have been talking to Davidson and Hicks at the same time,” the FBI affidavit said.
The flurry of activity was related to a pending story from The Wall Street Journal saying the National Enquirer paid McDougal $150,000 for her story about the affair and never published it.
At 9:03 p.m., Hicks called Cohen for two minutes. Cohen then called Howard of American Media. At 9:15 p.m., Hicks called Cohen for seven minutes and Cohen again appeared to be on two phones at the same time.
The story published at 9:50 p.m. and Howard and Hicks each sent Cohen a link to the Journal story.
Lawmakers question Hicks' testimony
The FBI affidavit to search Cohen's home was released a month after Hicks’ testimony. In light of all those phone calls and their timing, lawmakers were skeptical enough of her denials of knowing about the payments that the chairman at the time, Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., sent a letter July 18, 2019, asking Hicks to clarify her testimony. Nadler quoted from the FBI affidavit unsealed that morning that “raises substantial questions about the accuracy of each of those statements.”
Hicks’ lawyer, Robert Trout, has denied any inconsistencies.
"Ms. Hicks stands by her testimony," Trout told Nadler in a letter. "She had no knowledge of, and was not involved in any conversations about, 'hush money' payments to Stormy Daniels during the campaign."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hope Hicks could testify about conversations with Cohen in Trump trial