'Juries eat it up': Ex-aide Hope Hicks reveals Trump's potential hush money motive
Donald Trump's former press secretary and top adviser Hope Hicks was likely the final witness on Friday as the 11th day of the Manhattan criminal trial continues.
Trump is on trial for 34 counts, which allege he falsified business records to cover up hush money he sent to adult movie star Stormy Daniels to silence her claims she'd had an affair with him. Hicks gave the court a possible motive Trump had for the payment, legal analysts explained.
The prosecutor asked: "Mr. Trump was concerned these reports could hurt his standing with voters?"
Hicks replied, "Yes."
Trial lawyer David Henderson told MSNBC that the motive for the crime isn't necessary to prove Trump's guilt, but "juries eat it up like candy."
"She's giving it to you by the ton," Henderson said of Hicks. "I thought it was striking that she said when the first tape came in, we realized we had concern for women voters and generally," he said, referring to the Access Hollywood tape in which Trump was heard talking about molesting women.
Trump's camp reportedly worried that, if Daniel's revelations followed the airing of that tape, it would be very damaging to his election chances.
"I find myself asking the question, what on earth do you cross-examine her about?" said Henderson. "I'm saying that because, the way she's articulating the circumstances, some of it is even worse than I think people were anticipating it would sound when she's on the witness stand."
Read Also: How Fox News is lying about Trump’s trial
He said that prosecutors might think about asking Hicks about Trump being "calm" when she told him about the tape.
"You were concerned he was calm?" Henderson said he would ask.
"This is the first witness we have seen where I think the defense will need to sweat bullets about what they ask her and, more specifically, what they refrain from asking her on cross-examination," he said.
Hicks will likely be the final witness Friday and it's unclear if the defense will have the opportunity to cross Hicks
Former federal prosecutor Harry Litman agreed with Henderson's assessment that Hicks is uniquely positioned to give information about the motive.
"There are very, very few, if any, witnesses in this Washington-NY cesspool of a case for whom you can't construct some credible motive to lie. To the extent Hope Hicks gives damaging information about Trump, she is such a witness," he posted on X.
Just Security fellow, Adam Klasfeld had similar observations.
"This is the line prosecutors must walk: They must show Trump's campaign in tailspin after the 'Access Hollywood' tape, sparking motive to cover up a spectrum of alleged sexual misconduct," he explained. "Only some alleged behavior, though, they can speak by name. Hicks reviews a series of Trump's damage-control tweets about the allegations and their effect on female voters."
See the clip of Henderson in the video below or at the link here.
Hope Hicks gives Trump's motive youtu.be