Down goes Donald Trump
At the tail end of her testimony yesterday, Hope Hicks hit Donald Trump with a dagger when she acknowledged that Trump was involved in the attempt to silence Stormy Daniels. This immediately destroyed Trump’s defense strategy of arguing that Michael Cohen paid off Daniels without Trump’s involvement. The moment left Hicks crying on the stand and apologizing to Trump, because she knew she’d just helped cement his conviction.
At the time I characterized this moment as Hicks utterly destroying Trump. It turns out I’m not the only one who saw it this way. Legal expert Andrew Weissman tweeted that the moment was a “COUP DE GRAS” or a death blow.
Hope Hicks’ testimony wipes away any ability for Trump’s attorneys to spin up a reasonable doubt argument. It’s even worse for Trump that the jury saw Hicks apologizing to Trump and such, because it makes clear that she’s not doing this out of spite. She’s reluctantly confirming his guilt because she legally has no choice – which is the most damning kind of testimony. Trump is more firmly on track for conviction than ever.
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