The House Judiciary Committee is examining the truthfulness of former White House communications director and Trump confidante Hope Hicks’ statements in the aftermath of new documents released on Thursday, asking her to clarify her testimony to the committee last month.
The FBI documents released earlier Thursday revealing that one day after the tape came out, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen spoke on the phone with then-campaign spokeswoman Hicks and candidate Donald Trump. Those conversations were apparently about adult film actress Stormy Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford, according to the documents.
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler wrote to Hicks asking if she wanted to voluntarily clarify her testimony, saying the new evidence “raises substantial questions about the accuracy” of several statements she made.
In her appearance last month before the Judiciary Committee, Hicks said “no” when asked multiple times by Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee whether Hicks was ever present when Trump and Cohen discussed Daniels, according to a transcript released of the closed-door interview.
She also said she had no information about Daniels other than what she learned from reporters.
“Again, I had no knowledge of Stormy Daniels other than to say she was going to be mentioned in the story amongst people that were shopping stories around,” Hicks testified. “There were no specifics offered by the reporter, and I didn’t have any other information other than what was being relayed to me by the reporter.”
She said she denied the affair in a 2016 statement to the press because “that was the response that was dictated to me.”
In a letter to the judge regarding the Cohen search warrants, federal prosecutors said the government has “effectively concluded” its investigation that included examining whether certain individuals “made false statements, gave false testimony or otherwise obstructed justice in connection with this investigation,” though the names were redacted.
Hicks told CNN on Thursday that she doesn’t believe anything in these documents contradicts what she has previously said or testified.
She said the early October conversations with Cohen were regarding the Access Hollywood tape.
“He was clearly motivated to do something that I wasn’t aware of,” Hicks said. “Nothing contradicts what I’ve said.”
