The fourth week of Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York begins Monday as prosecutors look to build on the emotional testimony of an ex-aide to the former president.
Hope Hicks, Trump's top communications aide from 2015 to early 2018, testified Friday about how she and others close to Trump handled revelations about the “hush money” payments to two women before the election.
Hicks got choked up on the stand after acknowledging that Trump seemed concerned about how allegations involving adult film star Stormy Daniels might have affected his electability.
She recalled his reaction to news of a payout to Daniels in 2018, when he was president.
“He wanted to know how it played out, and just my thoughts and opinions on this story versus some other kind of story before the election if Mr. Cohen had not made that payment,” she recalled. “I think Mr. Trump felt it was better to deal with it now, and that it would have been bad if that story had come out before the election.”
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to paybacks to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who paid $130,000 to Daniels in exchange for her silence about allegations of a sexual encounter with Trump. He has pleaded not guilty and denies having sex with Daniels.
Prosecutors have not said who they will call next. The court will reconvene at 9:30 am
