53/ Bower:
Hicks and the campaign got their hands on the actual tape.
Her first reaction when she heard it: "Stunned."
"I had a good sense that this was going to be a massive story and dominate the news cycle for the next several days..."
53/ Bower:
Hicks and the campaign got their hands on the actual tape.
Her first reaction when she heard it: "Stunned."
"I had a good sense that this was going to be a massive story and dominate the news cycle for the next several days..."
54/ Klasfeld corrected, but Press is reporting the original, "wouldn't":
Klasfeld:
According to Hicks, Trump said that "sounds like something he would say."
55/ Press:
Hicks described the Access Hollywood tape as a “damaging development.”
“I think there was consensus amongst us all that the tape was damaging and this was a crisis,” she said.
Press:
Prosecutor: How did he react?
Hicks: He was upset... He knew it wasn't good, but it was locker room talk, pretty standard stuff for two guys chatting with each other.
Prosecutor: What did he say should be done?
Hicks: Yes... We put out a statement.
56/ Klasfeld:
Hicks watches Trump's video response to the Access Hollywood tape, which was posted on Twitter on Oct. 8, 2016 — and was shown to the jury earlier today.
She says she was present when it was taped.
57/ Press:
Hicks: I got the email at 1:30, the story was posted at 3:30 and our statement was out by 4 pm. It said, Bill Clinton has said far worse
Prosecution: Did you post a video?
Hicks: Yes.
[Jury is shown statement Longstreet brought into evidence an hour ago]
58/ Phang:
Hicks: I motioned for Jason (Miller) and for a couple people to come out to speak with me so as not to disrupt the debate prep, but the sight of the 5 or 6 of us out there was a sign something was afoot and so Trump asked us to come into the conference room and share what we were discussing.
59/ Phang:
Hicks shared the email with Trump verbally; they were trying to get a copy of the audio to assess the situation further.
“Everyone was just absorbing the shock of it.”
Hicks has a vague recollection of starting to read the transcript, and then Trump read the rest of it himself before telling her, “That
👉🏼doesn’t sound like something I would say.”
[She and Press have same reporting]
60/ Klasfeld:
The prosecutor notes that the video contrasted what Trump played down as his words as opposed to other people's actions.
Hicks agrees with that characterization.
Showing how coverage of the tape "dominated" the news cycle, Hicks noted they were anticipating a Category 4 hurricane making landfall on the East Coast at the time.
👉🏼Q: The "Access Hollywood" tape pushed the hurricane off the news?
A: Yes.
61/ Phang:
Hicks: I was stunned…. "I had a good sense this was going to be a massive story that would dominate the news cycle for at least the next several days.” And as for the impact on the campaign, it was a “damaging development” with lots of layers to it that “complicated where we were trying to go in a way that was going to be hard to overcome.”
62/ Phang:
Hicks: There was consensus among us all that the tape was damaging and that this was going to be a crisis.
When the conversation turned to how they were going to respond,
🤦🏻♀️👉🏼Mr. Trump felt like it was not a big deal, “not anything to get so upset over,” “pretty standard stuff for two guys.”
63/ Press:
Prosecutor: What was the media response?
Hicks: It was intense. It dominated the news cycle until the debate. News about a Cat 4 hurricane fell away.
Prosecutor: Did prominent Repubs condemn Mr. Trump?
Hicks: Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, the usual group
Prosecutor: Did Paul Ryan disinvite Mr. Trump from a campaign event in WI?
Trump's lawyer Bove: Objection!
👉🏼Justine Merchan: Overruled.
Prosecutor: Did Mr. Ryan say he was sickened by Mr. Trump?
Hicks: Sounds like something he would say
64/ Press:
Prosecutor: And Mitch McConnell - does this refresh your recollection?
Hicks: He said it was repugnant and unacceptable.
Prosecutor: Who was John McCain?
Hicks: He was a Senator
Trump's lawyer Bove: Objection!
Justice Merchan: Sustained.
65/ Press:
Prosecutor: Did Speaker Ryan do a call with House members and do you know what he said?
Trump's lawyer Bove: Objection, may I be heard at sidebar?
Justice Merchan: Approach
[After sidebar]
Justice Merchan: The objection is sustained
66/ Phang:
Hicks: Trump always liked to weigh in on statements,” and “we were all working together on it in the conference room.”
67/ Klasfeld:
Questioning turns to the 2016 debate:
Hicks traveled with Trump there, and she was present for the debate, where the "Access Hollywood" tape came up as "one of the first questions."
Hicks says Trump reiterated that this was "locker room talk, just talk."
"Words, not actions," she says.
68/ Klasfeld:
After the debate, the New York Times about Trump's behavior — but the prosecutor cuts her off before she says more.
That's because the "behavior" in question is Trump's alleged sexual assault of two women — a topic the judge barred from trial as unduly prejudicial "rumor."
69/ Press:
Hicks: At the debate Sunday in St. Louis, the Access Hollywood tape was among the first questions. After the debate, there were more reports.
Prosecution: Did you attend the rally in Greensboro NC on Oct 15?
Hicks: Yes
[Jury hears: If 5% believe, we don't win]
Orden:
Hicks testified that in the wake of the release of the Access H tape, she asked Michael Cohen “for help chasing down a rumor” about another tape. Colangelo asked Hicks to refrain from detailing the rumored other tape.
70/ Klasfeld:
Video:
Trump denies allegations by women — the nature of which is not before the jury.
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.
Only some alleged behavior, though, they can speak by name.