Editor's note: Norman Eisen is a CNN legal analyst and editor of “Trying Trump: A Guide to His First Election Interference Criminal Trial.” He served as counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the first impeachment and trial of then-President Donald Trump. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. Read more opinion on CNN.
CNN —
It's a cliché to say there was a surge of electricity in the courtroom, but there was electricity Friday morning as Hope Hicks took the stand to testify in former President Donald Trump's election interference trial.
Provided by Norm Eisen
Norman Eisen
As members of the public watched the proceedings in the overflow room of the courthouse, gasps could be heard. Even Hicks, who served as press secretary for Trump's campaign during the 2016 presidential election at issue in the case, seemed to sense the significance of the moment. An experienced and battle-hardened communications veteran, she began her testimony by saying she was nervous. Who in Trump's world would go before prosecutors to testify against a convicted “boss”?
People outside of Trump and his inner circle have probably spent just as much time here in court discussing the events at issue in the Hicks case. That's because, as special counsel in the first Trump impeachment, I took her testimony regarding the alleged plot to influence the 2016 election. As was devastatingly revealed in court on Friday, she directly implicated Trump in the cheating allegations in a completely believable way, even though she is a Trump supporter.
That's why Hicks was so important to prosecutors trying to prove their case, and during her testimony they quickly got to the heart of the matter. Hicks gave a compelling account of the impact the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape had on the Trump campaign. As a result, so-called hush money was paid to Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had an affair with the former president. The center of charge in this case is.
President Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying corporate records related to payments. (He pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied his relationship with Daniels). In early October 8, 2016, the Washington Post broke the news of an audio recording of President Trump saying to the then-host of the TV show “Access Hollywood” that he “just started kissing.” . [women]. It's like a magnet. Just kiss me. There's no waiting. And when you become a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Catch them. You can do anything. ”
Hicks explained that the impact of the release of the tapes was devastating both inside and outside the campaign. A rare detail she shared on Friday: The public impact was so great that the first 36 hours of coverage took the Category 4 hurricane that was about to make landfall on the East Coast out of the news. Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo lingered for a while during questioning about this anecdote, and for good reason. Hicks suggested this was a Category 5 or higher hurricane. This explains why Trump and his campaign couldn't afford another damaging sex scandal so soon after the tape.
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Another devastating blow came at the end of Ms. Hicks' direct testimony when she revealed three startling facts. President Trump admitted to Hicks that he knew that his then-fixer Michael Cohen paid Daniels, and that Trump was trying to blame Cohen. Hicks didn't believe him. She also said she feels President Trump is better dealt with after the election than before. She seemed so distraught that she started crying, probably almost throwing her former boss under the bus.
When I heard Ms. Hicks testify during the impeachment proceedings, I found her to be a convincing witness, and Friday was no different. Her jurors swallowed her words, and even her normally meticulous note-takers ignored pen and paper to observe her.
The only person in the courtroom that consistently received no attention was the person most at risk: the defendant. President Trump appeared to nod several times, including when Hicks testified about how he first learned of Daniels' story. It seemed to me that he was doing more than closing “my beautiful blue eyes” to “take it all in,” as he claimed. Whether asleep or awake, Hicks' testimony was a nightmare for Trump.
