Update: On Wednesday afternoon, Hope Hicks announced she would be resigning from her position as White House director of strategic communications. Our original story follows below:
On Tuesday, "Trump Whisperer" Hope Hicks, one of President Donald Trump's most trusted aides and White House director of strategic communications, testified for nearly nine hours before House of Representative lawmakers investigating Russia meddling in our presidential election.
According to the New York Times, Hicks declined to answer questions about anything other than her time on the campaign trail with Trump.
She did however reveal that she sometimes has to tell "white lies" for her boss — who made over 1,600 false or misleading claims in 298 days.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
A "white lie" is defined as "a minor, polite, or harmless lie; fib."
Considering Hicks was being questioned about a statement she drafted about Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer to allegedly get political dirt on Hillary Clinton, I wouldn't call lies Hicks reportedly told "white."
I'd just call them straight up lies.
Hicks, a public relations professional who is notoriously reticent about her personal life, has some how managed to escaped the extreme scrutiny many of those in Trump's inner circle have received by the media. She is a 29-year-old employee of the White House, a direct report to one of the most powerful men in the world. She commands a salary close to $180,000 a year, the max any of Trump's employees can receive. To categorise her falsehoods as little white lies is letting her escape the gravity of the responsibility she holds.
Hicks has been with the Trump team since the beginning. She reportedly understands Trump in a way others don't and the president allegedly dictates his tweets to Hicks.
As Lily Herman wrote for Refinery29 after Hicks allegedly penned the White House's denial of domestic violence allegations against secretary Rob Porter (her rumoured boyfriend), she is just as complicit as anyone else in the administration's actions.
It's time to stop sugarcoating what Hick's does. From drafting a misleading statement for the White House about Jr.'s shady meeting or defending Porter after he was credibly accused of domestic abuse by three women, Hicks has shown exactly where her interests lie — and that's with protecting the Trump administration and herself.
Let's all start collectively calling a spade a spade: Hicks is dishonest and has probably told more than "white lies" for the Trump administration.
Let's not let her off the hook.