Yahoo News Trump trial live updates: Hope Hicks says Trump drafted Karen McDougal statement
Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.
MORE: Who are the key players in Donald Trump's Manhattan hush money trial?
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Latest Developments
May 3, 1:07 PM
Hicks says says Trump drafted Karen McDougal statement
Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks said she spoke with National Enquirer published Pecker about the Karen McDougal story on Nov. 4, 2016.
"He explained that Karen McDougal was paid for magazine covers and fitness columns and that it was all very legitimate. And that was what the contract was for," Hicks said.
Hicks said she spoke with Michael Cohen before calling Pecker.
Hicks said she drafted a statement to respond to the Wall Street Journal, which was about to break the story that National Enquirer parent AMI had paid off McDougal to buy her silence about a long-denied affair with Trump. She then shared the statement with Trump once he returned to his plane.
"When Mr. Trump came on the plane for the rally, I shared it with him as well," Hicks said.
Cohen also made edits and offered feedback to the draft statement, according to an exhibit entered into evidence.
According to Hicks, Trump opted to write his own statement instead.
"He wanted to draft his own statement," Hicks said.
Before he drafted the statement, Hicks and Trump called back Pecker, who repeated the information he told Hicks earlier.
"It included his explanation for this -- that this was a legitimate contract, and that's what they planned to tell the Journal," Hicks said.
May 3, 12:56 PM
Hicks recounts learning of Karen McDougal story
Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks testified that she first heard the name Stormy Daniels in 2015 when she overheard some of the security on Trump's plane discuss a golf tournament Trump attended.
"Her name came up. She was there was with one of the other participants that Mr. Trump had played with that day," Hicks said.
Hicks said she first learned of Karen McDougal when the Wall Street Journal reached out for comment regarding their AMI payment story on Nov. 4, 2016, as the newspaper was preparing to break the story that National Enquirer parent AMI had paid off Karen McDougal to buy her silence about a long-denied affair with Trump.
Jurors were then shown the email Hicks received on Nov. 4, 2016, from the Wall Street Journal.
Hicks said she received the email ahead of a campaign rally.
"I was sort of dealing with this by myself on the plane while the rally was taking place," Hicks said.
According to Hicks, she notified Trump about the story before the rally began.
"I was worried about not having enough time to respond while he was speaking," Hicks said.
Hicks said she forwarded the email to Jared Kushner in part because he had "a very good relationship with Rupert Murdoch," the owner of the Wall Street Journal.
Hicks said she hoped Kushner could "buy a little extra time to deal with this."
"I think [Kushner] said he wasn't going to be able to reach Murdoch and that we should work on responding and deal with it," Hicks said.
Hicks said she called David Pecker's office as well as Cohen, due to his relationship with Pecker.
May 3, 12:46 PM
Hicks says she asked Michael Cohen about a 2nd rumored tape
Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks testified that she spoke with then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen on Oct. 8, 2016, to ask about a rumor she had heard of another potential tape that could be released, following the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape.
"I was calling to ask him to chase down a rumor I had heard with a contact he was familiar with in the media," Hicks said, describing that there "might be another tape that might be problematic for the campaign."
"I didn't want anyone to be blindsided. I wanted to have an understanding of what material was out there that we needed to prepare for," Hicks said.
Hicks said that no such tape existed but Cohen still chased down the rumor for her. She spoke vaguely about what the potential story was.
Hicks was then asked about Trump's campaign speech in Greensboro, North Carolina, which jurors watched earlier this week. Prosecutors again played the tape for the jury.
"These are all horrible lies, all fabrications," Trump told the crown in Greensboro regarding accusations of infidelity. "And we can't let them change the most important election in our lifetime."
"If 5% of the people think it's true and maybe 10% think, we don't win," Trump said at the rally.
Hicks also was asked about Trump's tweets after the "Access Hollywood" video was released.
"Nothing ever happened with any of these women. Totally made up nonsense to steal the election," Trump wrote in one tweet.
May 3, 12:37 PM
'It was intense,' Hicks says of coverage of 'Access Hollywood' tape
Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks testified about the ensuing coverage of the "Access Hollywood" tape.
"It was intense. Dominated coverage for the 36 hours leading up the debate," Hicks said.
Hicks recalled that a Category 4 hurricane was predicted to make landfall around the same time, but the Trump coverage completely dominated the news.
"I don't think anywhere remembers where or when that hurricane made landfall. It was all Trump all the time for ... 36 hours," Hicks said.
Hicks testified about how other Republican politicians -- like Mitt Romney and Mitch McConnell -- responded to the Access Hollywood tape.
"Things like disgraces, disgusting, something along those lines," Hicks said in describing Romney's statement.
In the courtroom, Trump has been sitting slightly back in his chair for the bulk of Hicks' testimony. His body is angled slightly toward the witness stand to watch the testimony.
He appeared to be taking some handwritten notes while his lawyers attended a sidebar conference with the judge.
May 3, 12:30 PM
Trump felt 'Access Hollywood' tape 'wasn't good,' Hicks says
Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks testified that when she informed Trump's brain trust of the discovery of the "Access Hollywood" tape, there was a consensus among the staff that "the tape was damaging. This was a crisis."
"This was kind of pulling us backwards in a way that was going to be hard to overcome," Hicks said.
Hicks said she was not immediately concerned about the impact of the tape on female voters, but the concern was "quickly raised."
"Mr. Trump felt this wasn't good," Hicks said, but he didn't think it was "something to get so upset over."
"He felt this was pretty standard stuff for two guys chatting with each other," Hicks said.
At this point in Hicks' testimony, jurors were shown the written statement that the Trump campaign issued on the afternoon that the "Access Hollywood" tape was released.
"This was locker room banter…" the statement said in part.
Jurors then saw the same video statement from Trump that was played for them earlier this morning during the Georgia Longstreet direct examination.
May 3, 12:22 PM
Hicks recounts telling Trump about 'Access Hollywood' tape
Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks testified that when the Washington Post informed her of the existence of the "Access Hollywood" tape, she went up to the conference room on the 26th floor of Trump Tower where debate prep was taking place. She said Jason Miller, Jarrod Kushner, and Chris Christie was there.
"They were practicing for debate prep," Hicks said.
"The sight of the ... five or six or 6 of us gathered out there was a signal that something was afoot. Mr. Trump asked us to come into the conference room," Hicks said.
Hicks said she read the email aloud, though Trump finished reading it himself.
"We weren't sure how to respond yet," Hicks said. "Everyone was absorbing the shock of it."
"He said that didn't sound like something he would say," Hicks said of Trump's response to the video.
"I had a good sense this was going to be a massive story," Hicks said.
May 3, 12:10 PM
Hicks says she was 'very concerned' about 'Access Hollywood' tape
Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks said she first learned of the "Access Hollywood" tape when she was contacted by the Washington Post.
"It would have been in the afternoon of Oct. 7," in 2016, Hicks said. "I received an email from the Washington Post asking for comment."
"I was in my office on the 14th floor of Trump Tower," Hicks said.
Asked about the timing of the story, Hicks said the story was "a month -- maybe a little less than a month" from the election.
Jurors were then shown the email that Hicks received from a Washington Post to request a comment about the video.
"URGENT: WashPost query," the subject line reads.
The email detailed that the video contained Trump engaging in an inappropriate conversation about women and included a transcript of Trump's remarks.
"I was concerned. Very concerned," Hicks said about her reaction to the email.
"I was concerned about the contents of the email. I was concerned about the lack of time to respond. I was concerned that we had a transcript not a tape. There was a lot at play," Hicks said.
May 3, 12:05 PM
Hicks recounts meeting David Pecker
Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks described the early days of the Trump campaign's press shop as being staffed by only her and "Mr. Trump, who's better than anybody at communications and branding."
She said he was "very involved" in crafting messaging for the campaign. "He knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it and we were all just following his lead."
Hicks testified that Trump was responsible for the campaign's messaging.
"I would say that Mr. Trump was responsible," Hicks said. "He knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it, and we were all just following his lead. I think that he deserves the credit for the different messages that the campaign focused on."
"Do you know someone named David Pecker," prosecutor Matthew Colangelo asked.
"Yes," Hicks said, noting that she first met Pecker at an earlier job.
"I reconnected with him at some point as he was a friend of Mr. Trump's," Hicks said. "I knew they were friends."
Hicks said she could not recall attending a meeting between Trump and Pecker at Trump Tower.
"I don't have a recollection of that but it is certainly possible," Hicks said.
Hicks recounted overhearing a phone call between Pecker and Trump where Trump congratulated Pecker for running "a great investigative piece" about Ben Carson's alleged medical malpractice
Hicks recalled another call with Pecker about the National Enquirer's work about Ted Cruz's father's. Jurors heard about this reporting during Pecker's testimony.
"Mr. Trump was just congratulating him on the great reporting," Hicks said. "This is Pulitzer-worthy," Hicks recalled Trump telling Pecker.
May 3, 11:59 AM
Hicks describes Trump's initial interest in presidency
Longtime Trump aide Hope Hicks testified that Michael Cohen "was an attorney" for the Trump Organization.
"I know he was involved in a couple of the license deals for some of the hotel projects and maybe some of the entertainment pieces as well, like the Ms. Universe pageant," she said.
Hicks said that Trump began exploring running for president by visiting Iowa in January 2015.
"Mr. Trump said we are going to Iowa, and I really didn't know why," Hicks testified.
"[Trump] eventually made the decision to formalize that with an exploratory committee at first and announced that he was going to run for president in June," Hicks said.
Hicks said that while Trump remarked about making her press secretary, but she didn't take it seriously at first.
"I didn't take it very seriously but eventually I just started spending so much time on the campaign," Hicks said.
Hicks added that Trump was "better than anybody" at communications and marketing.
"I reported to Mr. Trump," Hicks said about her eventual role as press secretary. She said they spoke everyday during the campaign.
May 3, 11:46 AM
'He's a very hard worker,' Hicks says of Trump
Hope Hicks testified that, as the director of communications for the Trump Organization, she initially met with Trump on a weekly basis.
"As we transitioned a few months later into the political work, I met with him more regularly," Hicks said, saying they began to meet daily.
"He's a very good multitasker and a very hard worker. He's always doing many things at once. He might be having a conversation with someone and it will remind him to follow up on something else," Hicks testified about Trump.
Hicks said she directly reported to Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump.
"It's a very big and successful company, but it is really run like a small family business in certain ways," Hicks said.
She testified about the role within the company of Rhona Graff, who testified last week.
"She was crucial to how everything ran on the 26th floor. She had a lot of institutional knowledge about different projects and Mr. Trump's business relationships, network, likes and dislikes in terms of scheduling," Hicks said.
Asked about Trump's relationship with Graff, she said "it was one of mutual respect."
