Jan. 6 Committee Asks to Grill Hugely Famous Conservative Despite Fact He Was Nowhere Near Capitol Riot
Fox News host Sean Hannity is now in the sights of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s hand-picked panel investigating the Capitol incursion.
The House committee on Tuesday wrote a letter to Hannity calling for his cooperation.
Attorney Jay Sekulow, who represents Hannity, told Axios that “any such request would raise serious constitutional issues including First Amendment concerns regarding freedom of the press.”
The letter from committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, and vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, claimed that the request was made with “immense respect” for the First Amendment but that the panel had a “solemn responsibility” to investigate the events of Jan. 6, 2o21.
“The Select Committee now has information in its possession … indicating that you had advance knowledge regarding President Trump’s and his legal team’s planning for January 6th. It also appears that you were expressing concerns and providing advice to the President and certain White House staff regarding that planning,” the letter read.
“You also had relevant communications while the riot was underway, and in the days thereafter,” it continued. “The Select Committee is in possession of dozens of text messages you sent to and received from former White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows and others related to the 2020 election and President Trump’s efforts to contest the outcome of the vote.”
Many of Hannity’s texts were released last month.
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
The letter noted a Jan. 5, 2021, text in which Hannity said he was “very worried about the next 48 hours.”
“Why were you concerned about the next 48 hours?” the letter asked. “What precisely did you know at that time?”
The Democrat-dominated panel wants to know what Hannity knew about former President Donald Trump’s state of mind and plans.
“It also appears from other text messages that you may have had a conversation directly with President Trump on the evening of January 5th (and perhaps at other times) regarding his planning for January 6th,” the letter said.
The letter also cited a text from Hannity to Meadows on Dec. 31, 2020, about the rally taking shape for Jan 6: “We can’t lose the entire WH counsels office. I do NOT see January 6 happening the way he is being told.”
“Among many other things, this text suggests that you had knowledge of concerns by President Trump’s White House Counsel’s Office regarding the legality of the former President’s plans for January 6th,” the letter from the committee said. “These facts are directly relevant to our inquiry.”
Thompson and Cheney said they want to ask Hannity about “any conversations you had with Mr. Meadows or others about any effort to remove the President under the 25th Amendment.”
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California said Hannity is a logical person to be interviewed by the committee.
“He has information that would be relevant to our committee. He was more than a Fox host. He was also a confidant, adviser, campaigner for the former president. And I would hope that if he’s asked by the committee … he would cooperate with us,” Schiff told MSNBC.
Hannity publicly condemned the Capitol riot on his show the night of Jan. 6, 2021.
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