17/ Press:
Bove: The call you say came in at the end of the audio file - there's nothing on the cell phone about it, is there?
Daus: There is not.
Bove: This photo of Michael Cohen in the White House, is this the meta data?
Daus: Yes.
17/ Press:
Bove: The call you say came in at the end of the audio file - there's nothing on the cell phone about it, is there?
Daus: There is not.
Bove: This photo of Michael Cohen in the White House, is this the meta data?
Daus: Yes.
18/ Press:
Bove: But there's no similar meta data for the audio files?
Daus: There is not.
Bove: There was another synch in October - but the exhibits show nothing about it - so we just have to take Michael Cohen's word about that happened in October 2020
19/ Anna Bower:
… He's trying to sow doubt about the integrity of the recordings and messages extracted from Cohen's phone…
I will spare you the details of much of this cross examination, which involves highly technical inquiries about metadata and laptop syncing and forensic data extraction.
As my editor put it in our shared notes just now: THIS IS TEDIOUS!!!
20/ Press:
Bove: And the phone was turned on again in 2022, did you know?
Daus: I did not.
Bove: And Michael Cohen used it to make another recording - and you don't know what he did-
Prosecution: Objection!
Justice Merchan: Sustained
22/ Backtracking slightly, Phang:
Daus also agrees with Bove that Cohen's phone was synced with a laptop in 2017 and synced with an unknown device in Oct. 2020 and the DA’s office has not reviewed either of those devices with which the phone had been synced.
Bove: “Those events present questions about the reliability of the evidence, right?” Daus: It would seem so.
23/ Klasfeld:
The witness agrees with the prosecutor's characterization that he worked with a "full forensic extraction of the device," the "gold standard."
24/ Orden:
As Daus is questioned by prosecutors, Trump has been hunched over the defense table, writing on a piece of paper as his attorney Todd Blanche peers over him, occasionally whispering in his ear.
Bower:
Bove, reaching the end of his cross examination, gets to the point.
Cohen's phone has been synced multiple times, turned on and off, reset to factory settings...And the things I've showed you this morning raise some questions about how the phone was handled? Yes, Daus agrees.
25/ Press:
Conroy: And you actually saw no evidence of tampering, did you?
Daus: I did not
Conroy: No further questions.
(re-cross) Bove: You saw the possibility of tampering - and the cut off of the file by a call, nothing on that in the phone, right?
Daus: Right
26/ Klasfeld:
Recross by Bove:
He says that his questions were more about variables that are unanswered in the data.
The witness agrees.
The witness agrees with the defense attorney's description that there are "gaps" in the data creating "unknowns."
He did not affirmatively see any evidence of tampering.
Single question from the prosecutor:
If he made a call on his phone seven years ago, would the witness expect to see a log of it.
"I would not," he says.
27/ Pagliery:
Bove's line of questioning tried to cast doubt on the accuracy of the info obtained from Cohen's phones.
His final question tried to make it seem like, to some extent, jurors will have to trust Cohen's word.
But prosecutors are asking followups now & undermining that idea.
28/ Phang:
CONROY: Did you see any evidence of tampering or manipulation on any of the data in the exhibits from yesterday DAUS: I did not
(Boom.) - that's me.(Phang)
Bove on Recross of Daus:
BOVE: Conversation is ongoing and audio file stops, you don't know what happens? DAUS: I do not.
One last question from the prosecutor:
CONROY: If I made a phone call seven years ago with the phone in my pocket would you see a log, would you not?
Daus confirms.
Daus is excused from the stand.
29/ [Me: I use SnagIt too. Good program]
Klasfeld:
Next witness: Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal at the Manhattan DA's office
Longstreet has been called to review social media posts in connection with the case. Expect lengthy disquisition on the authentication of tweets, posts, 'grams, and Truths.
For the curious, the witness uses SnagIt for screen captures.
30/ Pagliery:
Longstreet is talking about how she checks 25-30 Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Truth Social accounts everyday while working on this Trump case in the past year-and-a-half.
👉🏼You know where this is going. As always, Trump's online fury is coming back to haunt him.
31/ Press:
Prosecutor: Did you use the WayBack Machine to review previously published news articles?
Longstreet: I did.
Prosecutor: Including 405A, the Washington Post article [Access Hollywood tape]
Trump's lawyer Blanche: Objection
Justice Merchan: Jurors, step out
Morning recess.
NOTE: TIME FOR ME TO BREAK TO GET READY FOR THE DAY. I’LL BE BACK TO CATCH YOU UP, ASAP.
32/ Seems Mr. Blowdryer was determined to keep me from HOPE HICKS, but I prevailed.
I'll catch you up, via Phang, since she's concise:
Before she even takes the stand, Bove pops up to object and the lawyers approach the bench for a sidebar.
WaPo reporting that Trump hasn’t seen or spoken with Hicks since 2022.
As Hicks takes the stand, she announces into the mic that she’s really nervous.
👉🏼Trump’s eyes are open and he’s looking at Hicks but not smiling at her.
33/ Phang:
Hicks now works as a communications consultant for herself and says she is paying for her own counsel, was last in contact with him in summer 2022, and does not have any professional association with Trump anymore.
Hicks refers to Trump as a “very good multitasker” who often went from topic to topic in meetings and says it was not unusual for her to be “in and out” of meetings.
[Me: Multitask = no ability to concentrate on one thing at a time AT ALL]
34/ Phang:
Hicks: “Everybody who works at the Trump Org. reports to Mr. Trump. It’s a very big and successful company, but it operates like a small family business in some ways.”
35/ Phang:
On Direct, Hicks is asked about Keith Schiller, who she identifies as Trump’s bodyguard at big public events. She describes Trump’s relationship with Schiller as “close.”
She says Rhona Graff, Trump’s executive assistant, was “crucial to how everything ran on the 26th floor” and had institutional knowledge about his likes and dislikes, his networks, and his media appearances until she arrived. Trump’s relationship with Rhona was “one of mutual respect.”
36/ Phang:
Re.: Allen Weisselberg: Anything that had to do with finances, Allen was involved in. He was helpful dealing with personal financial disclosures and helpful with Mr. Trump’s finances.
Weisselberg did Trump's financial disclosure, which was a requirement that candidates file disclosure of their assets, it is needed and we put out a press release related to the filings and Alan helped with that.
37/ Phang:
His relationship with Mr. Trump was one of mutual respect, he had been with the Trump Org for a long time and had institutional knowledge and he was trusted.
Re. Michael Cohen: He was there when I began, I believe I met him before when I was working for a different PR firm working on Trump projects and I think we met at that time, he was an attorney.
38/ Phang:
Hicks eventually became the press secretary for the Trump Campaign: she would communicate the campaigns message, press releases and events and “a lot of media interviews."
Hicks says at the beginning, “it was just me and Mr. Trump,” who’s better than anybody at communications and branding. Later in the general election we did have a larger staff, dealing with phone calls and assisting and some other people would stay in the office each day.
39/ Phang:
COLANGELO: Who did you report to as press secretary? HICKS: I reported to Mr. Trump.
COLANGELO: How often did you speak to him as press secretary?
HICKS: Every day, over the phone and in person.
40/ Phang:
COLANGELO: How involved was he in media & the press aspects of the campaign?
👉🏼HICKS: “He was very involved”, he was responsible, he knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it and we followed in his lead, the messages focused on the agenda.
HICKS: “WE WERE ALL JUST FOLLOWING HIS LEAD”
41/ Phang:
Hicks said she would run statements by Trump, especially if they were about him. She traveled with him constantly and others who traveled with him included a social media aide, and a speechwriting aide.
"The core staff was very limited.”
42/ Phang:
Prosecution to Hicks: "If somebody wanted to reach Mr. Trump during the campaign, who would they call?”
Hicks says Trump was reachable and had a phone, but that if someone really needed to reach him, they would go through Schiller (the bodyguard).
Hicks is asked to confirm that she sent & received emails and texts and made phone calls for the campaign and identifies her email address and last four digits of her phone.
43/ All caught up.
Klasfeld:
Prosecutor Colangelo shows Hope Hicks an email that she received from Fahrenthold [reporter]
Bower:
Were you ever present for phone calls between Pecker and Trump during campaign? Yes, Hicks says.
She overheard a conversation between Pecker and Trump about an article National Enquirer published about Ben Carson related to medical malpractice.
44/ Phang:
Hope Hicks testifies, under oath, that she does not remember being in the August 2015 meeting (w/Pecker, Trump, and Cohen) and but says it is certainly possible.
She does, however, remember participating in phone calls with them both, including after the National Enquirer published a piece about Ben Carson and “medical malpractice.” Hicks remembers Trump praising the reporting and telling Pecker it was “Pulitzer worthy;”
45/ Phang:
Similarly, she remembers a similar call after the Enquirer ran a story about Ted Cruz’s father and Lee Harvey Oswald. She remembers
👉🏼Trump praising Pecker for “great reporting.”
Re. the Access Hollywood tape-
Hicks: The afternoon of Oct 2nd, I received a call from the Washington Post asking for comment. I was in my office on the 14th floor of Trump Tower.
46/ Orden:
Hicks testifies that she first learned of the Access Hollywood tape from an email from the Washington Post on Oct. 7, 2016
Phang:
She received an email from David Farenthold at WaPo asking for comment about it.
47/ Klasfeld:
Hicks forwarded the email to other campaign leadership.
The prosecutor admits it into evidence.
48/ Phang:
COLENGELO: Your first reaction? HICKS: I was very concerned…I was concerned about the contents of the email, the lack of time to respond... HICKS: I sent it to other campaign leadership like Jason Miller, David Bossie, Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon.
Hicks testifies: I wrote in the email: “Need to hear the tape to be sure, DENY,DENY,DENY"
49/ Klasfeld:
Hicks:
I shared the email with Mr. Trump, verbally.
[Me: Huh. She called him MR. TRUMP]
50/ Press:
Hicks: I forwarded the email to Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Jason Miller -
Prosecutor: Did you says Deny Deny Deny!
Hicks (laughs) I didn't see that the whole transcript was there. It made the strategy harder.
[Trump is looking down and taking notes]
51/ Bower:
Hicks went to find campaign leadership, who were busy with debate prep on the 25th floor of Trump Tower.
She showed the email and transcript of the tape to Trump.
😂🤣Trump said it "didn't sound like something he would say." He asked to hear the tape.
52/ Press:
Hicks: Mr. Trump was doing debate prep, he saw the five of us talking and asked us to come in.
Prosecutor: What did he say?
Hicks: He said that it didn't sound like something that he would say. [I'm still laughing at this😆]
Prosecutor: Were you with Mr. Trump when you saw the video?
A: Yes
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.