Who is Hope Hicks, the former Trump adviser testifying in New York criminal trial?

NEW YORK — Hope Hicks, a Trump-era White House adviser and communications director, is next to testify in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial.

Hicks' name has been brought up by several witnesses who have testified so far. She is expected to be questioned by prosecutors about her knowledge of the deal brokered between Trump and the leadership at the National Enquirer tabloid to "catch and kill" stories that could harm his 2016 presidential run.

Hicks is the ninth witness to testify in Manhattan against the former president. Trump faces 34 felony counts alleging that he falsified New York business records in order to conceal damaging information to influence the 2016 presidential election. Trump claims the trial itself is "election interference" because of how it is disrupting his 2024 bid for president because he must be present in court every day and can't campaign when he is.

Who is Hope Hicks?

Hicks has worked for Trump since 2014 when she worked for the Trump Organization under Ivanka Trump, the former president's daughter, and Trump himself. Hicks joined Trump's first presidential campaign in 2015 as press secretary. After Trump was elected, she joined the administration as director of strategic communications and later as communications director. She resigned from the role in 2018.

Hicks went on to join the Fox Corp., as chief communications officer and executive vice president but came back to the White House in 2020 as an aide to Jared Kushner, Ivanka's husband, and counselor to Trump.

How does she fit into the prosecution's case?

Hicks is likely to be asked about what she knows about the deal brokered between Trump, his lawyer Michael Cohen, and the leadership at the National Enquirer. Prosecutors