Hope Hicks, a former top aide to Donald Trump, testified that he instructed her to deny his alleged sexual involvement with Stormy Daniels during the final days of the 2016 presidential election.
Hicks' testimony provided jurors with insights into the campaign's efforts to manage damage control amid numerous allegations of Trump's inappropriate sexual behavior during the final weeks of his victorious White House bid.
Hicks testified that she told Trump four days before the November 8, 2016, election that the Wall Street Journal would publish details of Daniels' story.
"He wanted to make sure that there was a denial of any kind of relationship," said Hicks, who served as campaign press secretary.
Hicks added that Trump expressed a desire to shield his wife, Melania Trump, from the story, which also implicated him in an alleged affair with former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
"He was concerned about how it would be viewed by his wife, and he wanted me to make sure the newspapers weren't delivered to the residence that morning," Hicks said.
Hicks' testimony might support Donald Trump's legal defense that the payment to Daniels was intended to shield his wife, not influence voters.
The former president purportedly told Hicks that his lawyer, Michael Cohen, made the payment out of personal goodwill to shield him from false allegations.