Hicks testified that Trump used his personal money on the advice of his lawyer (Cohen) to pay down a shakedown and avoid personal issues. This is exactly the same defense used by John Edwards who actually used campaign funds to pay off his indiscretion in 2011.
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Norman Eisen: "Hope Hicks' testimony was a nightmare for Trump"
"As it became devastatingly clear in court Friday, Hicks is a Trump loyalist who nevertheless implicated him directly in the alleged wrongdoing in an utterly believable way.
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Another devastating blow came at the very end of Hicks’ direct testimony when she revealed a stunning trifecta: that, while president, Trump had admitted to her that he knew his then-fixer Michael Cohen had paid Daniels, that Trump attempted to blame Cohen and that Hicks did not believe him. She also stated that Trump felt it was better to be dealing with it after the election than beforehand. She appeared so distraught — presumably about throwing her former boss under the bus — that she then began crying.
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Asleep or awake, for Trump, Hicks’ testimony was a nightmare."
Politico: What Hope Hicks did for the case against Trump
"Hicks also delivered a devastating blow against Trump, whom she said she hasn’t spoken to since the summer or fall of 2022. It took two tries for Colangelo to get it out of her.
“Did Mr. Trump say anything else about this issue when he told you that Michael made the payment [to Daniels]?” he asked.
“Um, just that he thought it was a generous, um, you know, thing to do, and he was appreciative of the loyalty,” she stammered. “That’s all I remember.”
But there was something else, something important. Colangelo tried again: “Did he say anything about the timing of the news reporting regarding —”
Now she remembered. “Oh, he — yes,” she began.
“He wanted to know how it was playing, and just my thoughts and opinion about this story versus having the story — a different kind of story before the campaign had Michael not made that payment. And I think Mr. Trump’s opinion was, it was better to be dealing with it now and that it would have been bad to have that story come out before the election.”
“Thank you,” Colangelo said. “No further questions.”
Moments later, as cross-examination began, Hicks broke down and cried."
I don't buy the supposed "devastation" that these and other news sources are describing. But Hicks' appearance on the stand was bad, not good, for Trump.
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