Hope Hicks, Donald Trump's 2016 campaign press secretary, will reportedly testify at the former president's hush money trial in
New York. Sources told
NBC News that Hicks could testify about her knowledge surrounding payments made to adult film star
Stormy Daniels to cover up Trump's alleged affair. Hicks has previously testified before a grand jury in March 2023. "Now Hope Hicks, she per federal court records dating back to
Michael Cohen when he pleaded guilty, he contended at the time that there was a phone call in which she latched not only Michael Cohen but with
Donald Trump together," MSNBC's Vaughn Hilliard explained. "And so there's questions about on October 8, 2016, the day that Stormy Daniels came forward to the National Enquirer and said that she was ready to share her story but could potentially all but be paid off, that there were conversations that
Hope Hicks was allegedly a part of." Hicks may have also been on a second call the same day that Cohen agreed to pay $130,000 to silence Daniels. ALSO READ: Inside the neo-Nazi hate network grooming children for a race war Legal analyst Lisa Rubin noted that Hicks had broken with Trump to some degree after he left office. "If you look at the transcript of Hope Hicks' transcribed interview with the January 6th committee, you see a person who at the end of her
White House service did break somewhat with Donald Trump," Rubin recalled. "She didn't leave as acrimoniously as other people did." "She didn't share his belief that the
election had been stolen, and that at the time was headline-making news, that Hope Hicks had essentially said to him, Mr. President, you and I don't see this the same way," she added. "So it remains to be seen what Hope Hicks will be like in a courtroom if she testifies, what her demeanor is like with Donald Trump, the defendant, sitting right in front of her." Watch the video from MSNBC below or at this link. Former federal prosecutor Shan Wu thinks it's time to stop playing nice with former President Donald Trump . Writing in The Daily Beast with a column titled "Gag him completely," Wu makes the case that the current gag orders still give the former president far too much freedom to make intimidating threats against judges and their families. In his piece, Wu notes the unique incentives that make containing Trump with a limited gag order an impossible task. "Most defendants don’t insult and smear prosecutors and judges since there is little to gain by p---ing off the people bringing charges against you and the person who may sentence you," he argues. "Trump is not worried about that though, because he is using the criminal charges to buttress his presidential campaign." Wu then says that such behavior cannot be taken lightly given the lengthy history Trump has of inspiring his followers to commit acts of violence against his perceived enemies. ALSO READ: Lauren Boebert’s high school has canceled the congresswoman "The dangerousness of his remarks arise from the proven track record of his remarks inciting violence: January 6, the Walmart mass shooter whose manifesto invoked Trump, the threats received by all the judges in his cases, the swatting of Special Counsel Jack Smith on
Christmas, the white powder mailed to Bragg — the list goes on," he contends. "These incidents reflect deeper problems than just Trump mouthing off, but in the context of court cases gag orders are a tool to lessen danger if only judges will apply it without hesitation or favor." Trump was recently placed under a gag order involving his hush money trial that's set to start April 15. But it covers only court staff, witnesses and jurors. It doesn't affect Trump's comments on the judge, the district attorney or their families. Trump has taken advantage of that with frequent posts claiming that the judge's daughter is biased against him. Wu concludes by saying that giving judges and prosecutors security details isn't enough to protect against the damage Trump is doing since he's really aiming his wrath at the entire legal system. "Judges and prosecutors might have security details to protect them, but the only protection the rest of us have — and the only protection our democracy has — is the courage of public officials to do their jobs," he writes. "And that means gagging Donald Trump. Completely." CONTINUE READING Show less Donald Trump's small-dollar donations have seen a big trend downwards as the former president hounded his base for cash, according to a new report. Trump raised just just $51 million from small-dollar donors in 2023 in comparison to $626.6 million raised in 2020, according to an analysis by the
Washington Post . Also in 2023, the
Republican National Committee reportedly saw a drop in money from small-dollar donors in 2023. “The biggest problem in GOP fundraising is that we don’t treat donors well,” Republican small-dollar fundraiser John Hall told The Post. “Sending eight emails and texts a day that promise an artificial match, threaten to take away your GOP membership, or call you a traitor if you don’t donate doesn’t build a long-term relationship with donors.” After losing the 2020 election, Donald Trump flooded his mailing lists with requests for donations, prompting
Friends to complain they were be hounded, the
Washington Post reports. Trump even heeded the warnings and asked his people to tone down the frequency of the requests. Hall believes Trump's small donor boom slowed in 2023 because donors had been sent “too many messages that guilt them into donating,” according to Post. Hall added that people “being duped” into donating to candidates they didn’t know also played a role. Also read: Trump pranks MAGA with April Fool's joke that turns into fundraising grift Zac Moffatt, CEO of the digital marketing company Targeted Victory, believes the reason for the donation slowdown was a little more complicated, he told the Post. “It’s easy to blame texts and emails, but people don’t want to state the obvious: There’s far more competition in the space,” Moffatt said. “As more races come on board, more people are competing. It used to be 50 people trying to talk to them; now it’s 150, even if the donors have grown 25 percent.” According to people close to Trump, the fundraising is gaining steam again thanks to criminal cases leveled against him, which have reenergized his base. CONTINUE READING Show less Sean Kauffmann, a neo-Nazi and violent white supremacist whose harassment of LGBTQ+ people and journalists has been highlighted by Raw Story , faces charges for aggravated assault and child abuse following a report that he punched the mother of his infant son in the head. A sheriff’s deputy in Perry County, Tenn., was dispatched to Kauffmann’s home in Linden, Tenn., at about 8:09 p.m. on March 22, according to a
police report obtained by Raw Story. Kauffmann’s partner, whose name is redacted in the report, told the deputy that Kauffmann “assaulted her by punching her numerous times in the face and head, while she was holding their infant son.” The report goes on to say that Kauffmann’s partner “had bruising above both her eyes and swelling on her left jaw, and around both her eyes,” that she was “bleeding from the mouth and ears,” and “had a broken tooth, which was about to fall out.” RELATED ARTICLE: Tennessee cops let violent neo-Nazis off with warnings after they menaced a charity drag show The woman also reportedly told the deputy she was several weeks pregnant and that Kauffmann told her he was going to kill her. The report also quotes the woman as saying that Kauffmann, who is listed at 6 feet, 5 inches tall, and weighing 225 pounds, grabbed the infant by the clothing and tried to pull him from his mother’s arms, causing bruising on the child’s head and a red mark on his arm. Kauffmann was held in the Perry County Jail from March 22 through March 26, and released on a bond for $15,000 for aggravated assault and $10,000 for child abuse, according to police records. RELATED ARTICLE: Video shows neo-Nazi leader interviewing with Tennessee mayoral candidate’s campaign aide He is scheduled to appear in court before Judge Katerina Moore on Thursday to face charges of child abuse/neglect/endangerment for a child eight years old or younger, and aggravated assault-domestic. Kauffmann could not be reached for comment for this story. The Telegram channel for Tennessee Active Club, the neo-Nazi group led by Kauffmann, went dark on March 26, the day he bonded out of jail. A new channel for Kauffmann’s group reemerged on Telegram on March 30, but does not include any content. History of violence Sean Kauffmann leads the Tennessee Active Club, a group that is part of a decentralized, global network of white nationalist groups. Under Kauffmann's leadership, Tennessee Active Club has served as a hub for neo-Nazi organizing and harassment of LGBTQ+ people and other perceived enemies. In 2021, Kauffmann was convicted of two counts of domestic assault in Perry County in November 2021, according to local court records. According to an incident report filed in the case, an investigator observed red and purple marks on the neck of the victim — a different woman — and she told him he strangled her and she could not breathe. The investigator reportedly observed a knot on her forehead, black eye, swollen lip and swollen nose. William Beals, a 15-year-old boy and Sean Kauffmann (l-r) outside a drag show in Cookeville, Tenn., on Jan. 22. Robert Bray is in the background at left. (Courtesy Josh Brandon) Following Kauffmann’s arrest in the 2021 case, according to the report, deputies obtained a court order to seize all the firearms from his house. Moore, whom Kauffmann will again face on Thursday, also granted a protective order to the victim. * * * Editor’s note: Kauffmann was among five neo-Nazis who demonstrated in front of Raw Story reporter Jordan Green’s home in Greensboro, N.C. in February. Flanked by four men holding lit emergency flares, Kauffmann held a handwritten sign warning of “consequences.” Kauffmann suggested in a post on the encrypted
Social Media app Telegram that he held Green responsible, at least in part, for his ongoing legal troubles. “We can’t wait for everyone to see how our activities have helped build a case for a far greater exposé of the people orchestrating antifa and these journalists,” he wrote in the post, referencing the demonstration. “Specifically to me how this will impact all of my legal situations helping me win decisive victories! It’s the only thing that’s helped keep pushing me as hard as it’s gotten!” The post was made in a Telegram channel run by Kauffmann’s partner, who is the alleged victim in the aggravated assault case. Wendy Greenlaw contributed to this story CONTINUE READING Show less