According to a report by legal analyst Norm Eisen provided in a new opinion article for CNN, jurors at the current criminal trial in New York City challenging former President Donald Trump on allegations of falsifying business records were paying close attention during bombshell testimony by Hope Hicks, a longtime associate of the ex-president.
“When I took Hicks’ testimony for the impeachment proceedings, I found her to be a compelling witness, and the same was true Friday. The jury ate her words up, with even those who usually take close notes neglecting their pen and paper in favor of watching her,” said Eisen at CNN.
The case against Trump hinges on hush money from before the 2016 elections for a woman named Stormy Daniels who allegedly had an affair with Trump, and — among other facets to her testimony — Hicks reportedly said that she didn’t believe past attempts by Trump to pass off blame for some of what went down to Michael Cohen. Cohen, a former Trump ally, was a direct source of the funds for Daniels, and he was separately prosecuted for his role in the scheme on campaign finance law violations. The idea was that the arrangements covertly boosted Trump’s 2016 campaign for president by holding at bay a potentially damaging story.
Cohen is expected to also testify in these proceedings.
Others who’ve already testified include Keith Davidson — a lawyer connected to some of those involved in the mutli-faceted hush money arrangements — and a banking industry figure who previously did business with Cohen. The prosecution’s first witness was tabloid media figure David Pecker, a Trump ally whose associated National Enquirer helped silence another woman’s (Karen McDougal) story of an alleged affair, though Trump’s the only defendant. Pecker supported the idea of an ambition to impact the 2016 presidential election in a manner favorable to Trump rather than some other concern, like family.
