Trump Hush Money Trial Day 11: Hope Hicks' testimony and other key takeaways

Friday (May 3) is the final day of the third week of Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial. The lawyer who arranged hush-money payments for adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, Keith Davidson, testified for the prosecution again on Thursday.

What happened on day 10 of the Trump Hush Money Trial

Keith Davidson, the lawyer who negotiated hush-money payments for adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, testified for the prosecution again on Thursday.

Prosecutors said that former Trump aide Michael Cohen bought Daniels' silence with payments and arranged for McDougal to be paid through American Media Inc, the parent company of the National Enquirer, to boost Trump's electoral chances.

Here are the key takeaways from Day 11 of Donald Trump's hush money trial.

Judge clarifies Trump's testimony rights

Judge Juan Merchan addressed the court over the false assertion made by Donald Trump that he was not permitted to testify.

Merchan stated, “The order prohibiting extra-judicial statements does not prevent you from testifying in any way.”

Donald Trump appeared to retract his prior incorrect claim that a court-imposed gag order barred him from testifying in the case.

Before entering court on Friday, Trumpwas questionedwhether the gag order prevented him from testifying.

He replied, "The gag order is not to testify. The gag order stops me from talking about people and responding when they say things about me."

Trump's video response to Access Hollywood tape

Prosecutors showed Trump's video statement in reaction to the infamous Access Hollywood tape in which he was heard saying derogatory things about women.

The jury was shown Donald Trump's video statement following the release of the Access Hollywood tape.

In the video, Trump stated that he "never said I'm a perfect person, nor pretended to be someone I'm not".

He further stated, "I’ve said and done things I regret, and the words released today on this more thana decade-oldvideo are one of them. Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong and Iapologise."

Hope Hicks testifies: Trump's direct involvement in campaign messaging

The prosecution called Hope Hicks as a witness. Hicks, who formerly worked as Donald Trump's communications director, was a key aide during his 2016 campaign and White House tenure.

Hope Hicks stated that as Donald Trump's campaign press secretary, she reported directly to him.

When asked how often she spoke with Trump throughout the campaign, Hicks claimed she spoke with him every day, both by phone and in person.

The prosecution inquired as to how involved Trump was with the media's responses during his campaign.

Hicks said, "Very involved".

When asked how engaged he was in the overall messaging throughout the campaign, she responded, "Trump was responsible for it. He knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it and we were all just following his lead. He deserves the credit."

Hicks testified onAccessHollywood tape

Hope Hicks was questioned about the Access Hollywood tape, and the transcript was provided to the jury.

When asked what her immediate reaction was to getting an email from a Washington Post writer about the audio, she said she was "very concerned" about the substance of the email and the lack of time to reply.

Prosecutors asked Hope Hicks how negatively the Trump 2016 campaign saw the Access Hollywood tape, as they prepared to argue that when that story emerged, the campaign needed to hide any future damaging news about Trump and women.

"It was a damaging development," Hicks said. "This was a crisis."

Hicks on Stormy Daniels

When questioned about her reaction to the article regarding the American Media deal with Stormy Daniels, Hope Hicks stated that it was "absolutely, unequivocally untrue" that Daniels had a relationship with Donald Trump.

Hicks said that what she told the Wall Street Journal "was what was told to me".

Hope Hicks testified that she spoke with Michael Cohen after the Wall Street Journal piece was published.

(With inputs from agencies)