霍普·希克斯的律师驳斥了新公开的法庭文件中的证据，这些文件显示这位前白宫通信主管可能在2016年选举期间向国会隐瞒了她参与向斯托米·丹尼尔斯支付封口费的事情。
律师罗伯特·特劳特在周五的一份声明中说，“声称希克斯在2016年10月8日参与了关于‘封口费’付款的对话，或者知道付款正在讨论的报道是完全错误的。”。
特劳特补充说，希克斯上个月向众议院司法委员会“坚持她真实的证词”，并将遵从立法者对此问题的任何进一步询问。周四，委员会主席杰罗德·纳德勒要求希克斯返回国会山，对竞选财务传奇进行第二轮质询。
纳德勒在给希克斯的信中写道:“正如我在采访开始时提醒你的那样，除了完全坦诚之外，任何事情都会产生非常严重的后果。”。这位民主党议员还列举了希克斯在作证时可能撒谎的七个例子。
这位前特朗普官员已被给予8月15日的最后期限，自愿在委员会接受进一步质询。如果到那时她不服从，她将被发出传票。
希克斯的原始证词周四受到质疑，此前一家联邦法院发布了未经编辑的搜查令文件和其他法庭文件，这些文件是对与迈克尔·科恩相关的竞选资金违规行为调查的一部分。
文件显示，希克斯在就支付给丹尼尔斯的款项进行谈判之前不久，曾与唐纳德·特朗普和科恩进行过交谈，以便对她与特朗普的所谓婚外情保持沉默。他们三人在2016年10月8日的电话会议上至少谈了四分钟。
联邦调查局的记录还显示科恩和希克斯当天晚些时候再次通话。同一天晚上，科恩开始与《国家问询报》安排封口费交易。科恩目前因在特朗普手下工作期间犯下的一系列罪行正在服刑三年。
“根据这些电话的时间安排，以及短信和电子邮件的内容，我相信至少其中一些通信涉及到阻止克利福德上市的必要性，尤其是在《访问好莱坞》故事之后，”该文件写道。
2019年6月19日，在华盛顿特区国会山，前白宫通信主管霍普·希克斯在与众议院司法委员会的闭门采访中休息时离开了听证室。希克斯是特朗普的第一位前助手，在该委员会调查特别顾问罗伯特·穆勒的报告和妨碍司法公正之前作证。亚历克斯·王/盖蒂
但希克斯在6月份被问及这笔封口费交易时，向众议院司法委员会宣誓后讲了一个不同的故事。
"特朗普和科恩讨论斯托米·丹尼尔斯时，你在场吗？"李庚翔众议员问希克斯，希克斯回答说:“不，夫人。”李又问了她同样的问题，希克重复了同样的答案。
国家安全律师布拉德利·莫斯(Bradley Moss)在推特上表示，法庭文件表明希克斯在作证时对立法者撒谎。“如果明天年底前霍普·希克斯没有1001违规转介，我会很惊讶。很明显，她在斯托米·丹尼尔斯传奇事件上向国会撒谎了，”他写道。
未密封的法庭文件标志着联邦对竞选资金违规行为调查的结束。调查结束时，特朗普核心圈子中与此事有关联的其他高管没有受到任何额外指控。
美国地方法官威廉·保利三世说，这些记录是公开的，因为竞选资金违规行为和从调查中收集的信息是“国家大事”
“既然政府对这些违法行为的调查已经结束，现在是每个美国人都有机会审查这些材料的时候了，”他在裁决中补充道。
HOPE HICKS' LAWYER SAYS SHE DIDN'T LIE TO CONGRESS ABOUT TRUMP'S 2016 HUSH MONEY DEAL: 'SIMPLY WRONG'
Hope Hicks' lawyer is refuting evidence from newly unsealed court documents that show the former White House communications director may have lied to Congress about her involvement in the hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.
"Reports claiming that Ms. Hicks was involved in conversations about 'hush money' payments on October 8, 2016, or knew that payments were being discussed, are simply wrong," attorney Robert Trout said in a statement on Friday.
Trout added that Hicks "stands by her truthful testimony" to the House Judiciary Committee last month and will be complying with any further inquiries from lawmakers on the issue. On Thursday, committee chairman Jerrold Nadler demanded Hicks return to Capitol Hill for a second round of questioning on the campaign finance saga.
"As I reminded you at the outset of your interview, anything other than complete candor can have very serious consequences," Nadler wrote in his letter to Hicks. The Democratic congressman also listed seven instances where Hicks may have lied during her testimony.
The former Trump official has been given an August 15 deadline to voluntarily appear before the committee for additional questioning. If she does not comply by then, she will be issued a subpoena.
Hicks' original testimony came into question on Thursday after a federal court released un-redacted search warrant documents and other court filings that were part of an investigation into campaign finance violations tied to Michael Cohen.
The documents show that Hicks spoke with both Donald Trump and Cohen shortly before the negotiations began for the payments made to Daniels to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump. The three of them spoke for at least four minutes during a conference call on October 8, 2016.
FBI records also show that Cohen and Hicks spoke again later that day. That same evening, Cohen began to work out a deal with The National Enquirer to arrange the hush money deal. Cohen is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for a slew of crimes he committed while working for Trump.
"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 Clifford from going public, particularly in the wake of the Access Hollywood story," the document read.
Former White House communications director Hope Hicks leaves the hearing room during a break at a closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee June 19, 2019 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Hicks was the first former Trump aide to testify before the panel’s investigation into special counsel Robert Mueller’s report and obstruction of justice.ALEX WONG/GETTY
But Hicks told a different story under oath to the House Judiciary Committee in June when asked about the hush money deal.
"Were you ever present when Trump and Cohen discussed Stormy Daniels?" Rep. Jackson Lee asked Hicks, to which she replied, "No ma'am." Lee asked her the same question again, and Hick repeated the same answer.
Bradley Moss, a national security attorney, tweeted that the court documents make it clear that Hicks lied to lawmakers during her testimony. "I'm going to be surprised if there isn't a 1001 violation referral for Hope Hicks by the end of tomorrow. It appears rather clear she lied to Congress about the Stormy Daniels saga," he wrote.
The unsealed court documents marked the end of the federal investigation into campaign finance violations. The probe ended without any additional charges against other executives in Trump's inner circle who were linked to the matter.
U.S. District Judge William Pauley III said that the records were made public because the campaign finance violations and the information gleaned from the investigation are "a matter of national importance."
"Now that the government's investigation into those violations has concluded, it is time that every American has an opportunity to scrutinize the materials," he added in his ruling.
