"This was a crisis": Hope Hicks testifies in N.Y. criminal trial and other week three highlights

The third week of former President Trump's New York criminal trial reached a crescendo on Friday when Hope Hicks took the stand, bringing one of Trump's onetime closest aides face to face with her former boss.

Why it matters: Hicks provided vivid details about the panic inside the Trump campaign after the "Access Hollywood" tape was made public weeks before the 2016 presidential election.

Hicks is the first member of Trump's inner circle to take the stand in his New York criminal trial.

Driving the news: Prosecutors say the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape prompted Trump to agree to hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

"There was consensus amongst us all that the tape was damaging and this was a crisis," Hicks testified.

Here's what else to know about the third week of Trump's New York trial: