Hope Hicks says Donald Trump ‘concerned’ by affair allegations during 2016 race
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Hope Hicks, a former aide of Donald Trump, revealed during his criminal trial in Manhattan that he attempted to prevent newspapers from being sent to his residence that contained claims of infidelity. Trump was concerned about upsetting his wife, Melania, and therefore wanted to avoid any articles that could cause problems in their relationship.
Hicks, a former member of Trump's campaign team and later a White House employee, revealed that she was instructed to hold onto copies of articles from the Wall Street Journal about "hush money" paid to a Playboy model and adult performer. These articles were to be kept hidden from Trump's spouse by Hicks.
According to Hicks, he was worried about the impact of the story and how his wife would perceive it. This news was disclosed a few days before the November 2016 election, where Trump won against Clinton from the Democratic Party. His main priority was to ensure that the newspapers wouldn't get delivered to his house the next morning.
According to her, Trump was curious to find out how those stories were being received.
The recent testimony from a Trump supporter who has been with him for a long time came towards the end of the third week of the trial. The former president is accused of hiding payments made to silence Stormy Daniels, an adult film star who claimed to have had a short secret affair with him back in 2006.
Previously, Hicks explained the severe situation that arose when the notorious Access Hollywood video was made public. In this video, the candidate was heard boasting about his actions of touching women's private parts.
She stated that the event was a detrimental occurrence for the Republican candidate's 2016 election campaign, causing an obstacle that would be challenging to conquer.
According to Hicks, who used to be a part of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox media group and is now a communications consultant, the team of Trump thought that it was a critical situation.
According to her, Trump perceived the published remarks, which were recorded a few days prior to the November 2016 election, to be average and unsurprising.
Hicks gave testimony that Mr. Trump perceived the conversation as unsatisfactory, but acknowledged that it was simply a private chat between two individuals. He believed that this was typical conversation between two men in casual interaction.
During the testimony, Hicks displayed visible emotions while Trump observed from the defence table. She confessed to feeling "anxious" as she took the stand, and later, when the defence asked her to explain how she initially arrived in the former president's circle, she sobbed openly. The judge responded by calling for a short break before Trump's lawyers resumed their cross-examination.
The lawyers for the side that is accusing someone called Hicks to the stand to try and show that Trump was very eager to stop any more negative attention from coming out after the Access Hollywood recording. They say that this is why Trump paid Daniels $130,000 to keep silent, and that it's a way of trying to influence the election by illegal means. The people who are bringing the case forward work for the district attorney's office in Manhattan.
Beforehand, Juan Merchan, the judge in charge of the case, prohibited the prosecution from presenting the recording to the jury. However, he permitted a written version of Trump's vulgar remarks to be read aloud during the trial.
Merchan spoke directly to Trump on Friday, before any testimony was given. He refuted the statements made by the anticipated Republican nominee for the 2024 election. Trump claimed that a gag order imposed by the court would prevent him from defending himself by testifying in court.
According to Merchan, you possess an undeniable privilege to give evidence in court if you choose to do so. This privilege is protected by the constitution.
On Tuesday, Trump was penalized $9,000 after consistently breaking the gag order that forbids him from criticizing or attacking witnesses or jurors involved in the case. Merchan gave a warning that Trump could be imprisoned if he persisted in refusing to comply with the order.
Trump informed reporters on Friday morning as he made his way to the courthouse that he planned to take legal action regarding the constitutionality of the gag order. However, he did not mention any specifics on the matter.
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