Former Trump aide Hope Hicks testifies at criminal trial

While the jury in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president has heard accounts from outsiders about a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, they have yet to hear testimony from people who worked directly for Trump. Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records to cover up the payment to Daniels and denies having had a sexual encounter with her.

Hope Hicks, a former White House aide to Donald Trump, took the witness stand on Friday in the former president's criminal trial where she is expected to face questions about efforts during the 2016 presidential campaign to bury stories about his alleged sexual misbehavior. While the jury in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president has heard accounts from outsiders about a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, they have yet to hear testimony from people who worked directly for Trump.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records to cover up the payment to Daniels and denies having had a sexual encounter with her. Hicks served Trump as a close political adviser during his first campaign for president in the 2016 election and for several years in the White House.

Called to testify by Manhattan prosecutors, Hicks said she was really nervous at the outset of her testimony. Former National Enquirer tabloid publisher David Pecker testified at the trial that Hicks was in a 2015 meeting where Pecker promised to serve as "eyes and ears" for the Trump campaign and help suppress unflattering news stories that could have threatened his presidential prospects.

The 12 jurors and six alternates have yet to hear from the main players in the case, including Daniels and Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, who arranged the payment. Along with Pecker, they have heard from Daniels' former lawyer Keith Davidson, who testified he arranged the payment with Cohen. Under questioning from Trump's defense team, he acknowledged pursuing similar cash-for-dirt deals with other high-profile people.

The defense argues the hush money payment was made to spare Trump's family embarrassment, not to protect his presidential campaign. Trump says the case is an attempt by Democrats to undercut his chances of defeating Democratic President Joe Biden in the coming Nov. 5 presidential election.

The case features sordid allegations of adultery and secret payoffs, but it is widely seen as less consequential than the other three criminal prosecutions Trump faces. The others charge him with trying to overturn his 2020 presidential defeat and mishandling classified documents after leaving office. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all of those also. Still, a guilty verdict could hurt Trump's presidential bid, Reuters/Ipsos polling has found.

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