According to Axios, the House Select committee investigating the deadly January 6 attack on the Capitol is preparing to ask Fox News personality Sean Hannity to cooperate with its probe voluntarily. Hannity has worked as an informal adviser to the twice-impeached one-term President. In 2016, the New York Times reported that Hannity gave Trump “the kind of promotional television exposure even a billionaire can’t afford for long.” In 2018, The Washington Post reported that Hannity’s contact with Trump is so frequent, it means that “he basically has a desk in the place,” one presidential adviser said.
Last month, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), vice-chair of the committee, read texts from Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, and Donald Trump Jr. urging former President Donald Trump to act. At the same time, Trump just sat around and did nothing for three hours while the Capitol was under attack.
Axios reports, “Hannity is one of the most prominent media figures in America and was a close adviser to Donald Trump throughout his presidency. The committee revealed last month that Hannity texted then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the riot to urge him to get Trump to stop his supporters.”
Jay Sekulow, counsel to Sean Hannity, told the outlet, “If true, any such request would raise serious constitutional issues including First Amendment concerns regarding freedom of the press.”
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“Can he [Trump] make a statement?” Hannity texted to former chief of staff Mark Meadows while the mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. “Ask people to leave the Capitol.”
Axios notes that Hannity did condemn the January 6 riot, saying on his show on the night after the attack that “all of today’s perpetrators must be arrested and prosecuted.” However, Hannity appears to be letting Trump off the hook by never condemning the former President’s actions and inaction.
‘The committee tweeted this:
The Committee is seeking information from Sean Hannity.
Chair @BennieGThompson and Vice Chair @RepLizCheney request Hannity answer questions about matters including communications between Hannity and the former President, Mark Meadows, and others in the days surrounding Jan 6th. pic.twitter.com/wXtOGSsneg
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) January 4, 2022
“A phone call from Hannity to Trump carried more sway than a conversation between the president and many members of his own Cabinet,” the outlet adds.
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
