Hope Hicks reportedly stopped returning some of Trump's calls after she left the White House and he's been asking, 'What happened to Hope?'

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

White House Communications Director Hope Hicks and Donald Trump.

• Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director, hasn't returned several of President Donald Trump's phone calls since she resigned from her post last year, CNN reported Wednesday.
• Trump has repeatedly remarked, "What happened to Hope?," according to sources close to him who spoke with CNN.
• Hicks reportedly remains loyal to Trump, but wanted some space from the political circus she played a key role in for three years.
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Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director, hasn't returned several of President Donald Trump's phone calls since she resigned from her post last year, CNN reported Wednesday.

Trump has repeatedly remarked, "What happened to Hope?," according to sources close to him who spoke with CNN.

Hicks was one of the president's longest-serving aides and closest confidantes. She began working for the Trump Organization in 2014, served as press secretary for the Trump campaign, and ultimately ran the communications shop at the White House.

But Hicks considered rejoining the administration last summer and asked friends what positions they thought might be available to her, CNN reported. And she has reportedly remained close with former White House colleagues and campaign staffers.

Following her White House departure, Hicks spent several months living in New York City, where she kept a low profile. In August of 2018, the Fox corporation brought Hicks on as its top communications officer - a job that took her to Los Angeles.

Read more: Nancy Pelosi accuses Trump of obstructing justice by ordering Hope Hicks not to answer Democrats' questions

Hicks spent about eight hours testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday as part of its investigation into whether the president obstructed justice. But she refused to answer the committee's questions during the closed-door session or provide any documents pertaining to her time in the White House.

White House counsel Pat Cipollini wrote in a letter to the committee that Hicks is "absolutely immune" from revealing information about her work in the White House, including minor details like where her office was located. Democrats called the immunity assertion "bogus," and Justice Department veterans and ethics lawyers also said Cipollone's assessment has no legal merit.

And Trump spoke out in defense of his former aide on Wednesday, tweeting, "So sad that the Democrats are putting wonderful Hope Hicks through hell, for 3 years now, after total exoneration by Robert Mueller & the Mueller Report. They were unhappy with result so they want a Do Over. Very unfair & costly to her. Will it ever end?"