Hope Hicks apparently kept a White House diary


Outgoing White House communications director Hope Hicks has been one of President Trump's closest aides throughout his campaign and presidency, and she could tell us a lot about the inner workings of Trump's inner sanctum. That information is worth a lot of money — as much as $10 million for an advance on a tell-all book, according to Britain's Daily Mail — but it has also put her in the crosshairs of investigators looking into Trump's ties to Russia and potential obstruction of justice. Oh, and Hicks apparently kept a diary.
A "White House insider" tells the Daily Mail that Hicks secretly kept a "detailed diary of her White House work, and her interactions with the president." Hicks is "one of Donald Trump's most loyal colleagues and friends," the source added. "She's not one to destroy that relationship. And she is certainly under some sort of nondisclosure agreement." But whether or not the diary helps her write her lucrative memoir, it may not belong to her, according to former White House ethics lawyer Norm Eisen. If she kept a White House diary, he tweeted, it belongs to the U.S. government, "must be preserved" under the Presidential Records Act, and "raises issues about her handling of classified & WILL be subpoenaed."
Hicks has already met with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators and the House and Senate intelligence committees, and her legal exposure won't end after she leaves the White House. Trump has regularly disregarded the advice from his lawyers to avoid discussing details of the Russia investigation with staff members, especially Hicks, and "I think the president has put her in a very precarious position," a senior Trump administration official tells Politico. She might need to sell her story to pay her legal bills. You can read more about her legal liability at Politico.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Iran nukes program set back months, early intel suggests
Speed Read A Pentagon assessment says US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites only set the program back by months, not years. This contradicts President Donald Trump's claim.
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday