Prior to a unanimous vote to refer Mark Meadows for contempt of Congress charges, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the ranking Republican on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, read a series of text messages she said Meadows received during the Capitol attack.
In the messages, several figures, including Donald Trump Jr. and Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity, urge Meadows to get then-President Donald Trump to tell his supporters to leave the Capitol.
Cheney said Meadows, who was Trump’s White House chief of staff during the siege, turned over the materials before he stopped cooperating with the panel.
Cheney says Meadows is refusing to testify about text messages “that he admits are not privileged.”
On January 6th, our Capitol building was attacked and invaded. The mob was summoned to Washington by President Trump. And, as many of those involved have admitted – on videotape, in social media, and in Federal District Court – they were provoked to violence by President Trump’s false claims that the election was stolen. On January 6th, our Capitol building was attacked and invaded.
The violence was evident to all – it was covered in real time by almost every news channel. But, for 187 minutes, President Trump refused to act when action by our President was required, indeed essential, and compelled by his oath to our Constitution. Mr. Meadows received numerous text messages, which he has produced without any privilege claim – imploring that Mr. Trump take the specific action we all knew his duty required.
Emphasis mine. It’s clearly wrong and bad and illegal on its face but in addition to that he swore an oath to prevent it. That will mean precisely nothing to him, but that’s because he’s a psychopath, not because the oath is meaningless.
These texts leave no doubt: the White House knew exactly what was happening at the Capitol. Republican members of Congress and others wrote to Mark Meadows as the attack was underway:
-“Hey, Mark, protestors are literally storming the Capitol. Breaking windows on doors. Rushing in. Is Trump going to say something?”
-“We are under siege up here at the Capitol.”
-“They have breached the Capitol.”
-“There’s an armed standoff at the House Chamber door.”
-“We are all helpless.”
Dozens of texts, including from Trump administration officials, urged immediate action by the President:
-“POTUS has to come out firmly and tell protestors to dissipate. Someone is going to get killed”
-“Mark, he needs to stop this. Now”
-“TELL THEM TO GO HOME”
-“POTUS needs to calm this shit down.”
Indeed, according to the records, multiple Fox News hosts knew the President needed to act immediately. They texted Meadows that:
-“Hey Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home…this is hurting all of us…he is destroying his legacy.” Laura Ingraham wrote.
-“Please get him on tv. Destroying everything you have accomplished.” Brian Kilmeade wrote.
-“Can he make a statement?…Ask people to leave the Capitol.” Sean Hannity urged.
As the violence continued, one of the President’s sons texted Meadows:
“He’s got to condemn this s*** Asap. The Capitol Police tweet is not enough.” Donald Trump, Jr. texted.
Meadows responded: “I’m pushing it hard. I agree.”
But that was then. Now Meadows refuses to cooperate.
Comments
8 responses to “Many of those involved have admitted”
Trying to save his “legacy.” Huh. The legacy of being the most abusive, out of control, most unaccountable and downright stupidest president in the history of the US? That legacy?
twiliter, I agree. This is his legacy. This is what he wrought, and is not a violation of his policies, it is the culmination. And Fox News is deeply complicit, too.
So, it’s interesting that the “fair and balanced you decide” network golfs with the president, and then thinks they have the influence to tell him to do something. They really should know at this point that Trump never did anything anyone asked or told him to, and all their kissing up to him for favorable access and interviews really did not give them any influene at all.
They turned on a dime and tried to turn the whole mob into antifa, FBI provocateurs, and BLM. Trump is also Fox’s legacy.
Also it’s incredibly weird and wrong to see tv personalities adding their voices to legislators’ to urge Trump to stop a coup, as if the tv personalities were part of government.
Ophelia#4. There are of course good journalists, but one thing that has struck me about rather too many journalists is that they are essentially power-groupies – existing on the fringes of political power and enjoying it when some of that power rubs off on them through their abuse of the power and influence of journalism; and since power tastes good, they proceed further and further with that abuse, further and further into corruption.
And that goes triple for tv personalities. I don’t consider Laura Ingraham or Sean Hannity journalists.
Robert Reich makes some good points about mainstream journalism:
Sackbut, I saw a good tweet that basically summarised that view. It was something along the lines that Media stopped caring about CRT at the same time the GOP did. Someone replied that it [CRT] was probably stored in the same warehouse as the Caravan.