Former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks He is expected to be a witness for the prosecution a case of falsifying business records Donald Trump is set to go on trial in New York this month, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told NBC News on Monday.
He met for Hicks a few hours With Manhattan prosecutors who brought the case last year. They allege that the former president falsified records related to a hush-hush payment to his then-lawyer. Michael Cohen made for the adult movie star Stormy Daniels In the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign.
At that time, Hicks was the press secretary of the Trump campaign. He was the first to inform about his possible statement in the criminal trial scheduled to start on April 15 The Whatw York Times.
Hicks’ lawyer said he was unaware of the hush money payment until it was revealed in 2019. But an FBI agent who investigated Cohen testified for Cohen federal criminal case he said he believed Hicks was involved in negotiations to prevent Daniels from going public with allegations that she had sex with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied sleeping with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
The statement noted that negotiations began in earnest after Trump’s election campaign was released.Enter Hollywood” Tape dated October 7, 2016. In the same 2005 video, Trump is heard saying in a hot mic moment that he can prey on women without their consent because “when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”
“In the days following the Access Hollywood video, I learned that Cohen exchanged a series of calls, text messages and emails with Keith Davidson, Clifford’s attorney at the time, David Packer and American Media Inc. publisher Dylan Howard. National Enquirer, Trump and Hope Hicks, who was Trump’s presidential campaign press secretary at the time,” the FBI agent wrote. statement.
“Based on the timing of these calls, the content of the text messages and emails, I believe that at least some of these communications relate to the need to prevent Clifford from going public, especially after the Access Hollywood story.” said testament.
Court records show Hicks called Cohen at 7:20 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2016 — the first time he had called her in weeks — and Trump joined the call seconds later. The conversation lasted for four minutes. After Trump left the call, Hicks and Cohen spoke privately, after which Cohen called Packer, the AMI president, according to court records.
Minutes after the conversation ended, Cohen received a phone call from Howard, AMI’s chief content officer, court records show. Cohen then called Hicks and spoke with Packer again. At 8:03 p.m., Cohen called Trump, according to unsealed federal court documents. They talked for eight minutes.
Court records also show Trump and Cohen spoke twice on Oct. 26, the day Cohen transferred $130,000 to an escrow account to be sent to Daniels’ attorney to keep her quiet.
Hicks told the Democratic-controlled House Judiciary Committee in 2019 that he was not involved in hush money discussions and told the FBI that he was not aware of Daniels’ allegations until early November 2016 “to the best of my recollection.”
After the Democratic chairman of the committee asked a question, “apparent inconsistenciesIn a 2019 deposition after Hicks’ FBI testimony was unsealed, Hicks’ attorney, Robert Trout, said that “reports alleging that Ms. Hicks was involved in negotiations for hush money payments on October 8, 2016, or knowledge that payments were discussed, are simply false.” is wrong”.
“Ms. Hicks stands behind her truthful statement that she first learned about this matter in early November 2016 as a result of press inquiries,” the lawyer said.
Cohen and Daniels are expected to be key witnesses in the case filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office. Trump pleaded not guilty.