Hope Hicks told Michael Cohen to 'keep praying' as they hoped to keep hush money payments quiet, documents show
New court documents unsealed on Thursday detail President Donald Trump's 2016 team's conversations as Michael Cohen was arranging hush money payments to silence women alleging they had affairs with Trump.
In the documents, an FBI agent says that Trump's former attorney in the days after the Access Hollywood tape was released "exchanged a series of calls, text messages, and emails" with Stormy Daniels' attorney Keith Davidson, the National Enquirer's David Pecker and David Howard, Trump, and then-campaign secretary Hope Hicks, per BuzzFeed News' Zoe Tillman.
"Based on the timing of these calls, and the content of the text messages and emails, I believe that at least some of these communications concerned the need to prevent [Stephanie] Clifford from going public, particularly in the wake of the Access Hollywood story," the FBI agent says.
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.
One portion of the document also describes a conversation on Nov. 5, in which Cohen texted Hicks noticing that a Wall Street Journal article about the National Enquirer paying to silence Karen McDougal, who also claimed she had an affair with Trump, was "getting little to no traction," per CBS News' Steven Portnoy. Hicks responded, "Same. Keep praying!! It's working!" Hicks claimed in a comment for that story, "We have no knowledge of any of this." The documents also show that Cohen texted Howard that "he's pissed," per HuffPost, seemingly referring to Trump.
Hicks has denied knowing about Daniels' allegations until November 2016, a claim she made during congressional testimony, ABC News reports.
Cohen is currently serving a three-year sentence after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations as prosecutors say he made the hush money payments at the direction of Trump, and the documents show Trump and Cohen communicating numerous times as Cohen was arranging the payments, CNN reports. Trump has denied knowing anything about the payments.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published