Newly Released Documents Show Post-Jan 6th Communications Between McEnany and Hannity
Fox News host Sean Hannity sent a post-Capitol riot text message to then-White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany urging her and other top aides to Donald Trump to stop “stolen election talk” and keep “crazy people” away from him. Hannity’s text from January 7th described what McEnany called a “playbook” for conversations with Trump during his final days in office.
The first two points in the playbook were revealed by House January 6th select committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MD) in a letter requesting Ivanka Trump to appear before the bipartisan panel.
Hannity is just one of the Fox News personalities who has been revealed to have communicated with top Trump administration officials during or after the January 6th Capitol riot. As the violence was unfolding that day, then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows received a message from The Ingraham Angle host Laura Ingraham begging Meadows to have Trump tell people to go home. “This is hurting all of us. He is destroying his legacy,” she texted.
Well, Hannity's show is on right around…sundown. https://t.co/fjPDS2IJJF
— Quinn Cummings (@quinncy) January 21, 2022
Another Fox personality, Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade, urged Mr Meadows to “please get him [Mr Trump] on TV” because the riot was “Destroying everything you have accomplished”.
Committee also seeking testimony from Ivanka on whether Trump held up deploying the National Guard on January 6th pic.twitter.com/1CqSK9WUHZ
— Tom LoBianco (@tomlobianco) January 20, 2022
The first step in the playbook, Hannity said, was to have “no more stolen election talk” around Trump. The second was to advise Trump that “impeachment and the 25th amendment,” two ways he could be removed from office before the final two weeks of his term were up, were “real” and warn him that “many” of his aides would quit the administration. In response, McEnany replied: “Love that. Thank you. That is the playbook”.
Trump's brain is a like a Jack-in-Box. You crank the handle, tinny music plays, and suddenly a hideous clown jumps out.
Hannity said a lot of words. Trump heard "Wall."
I spent a lot of time with elderly people in cognitive decline, this guy has it. https://t.co/gfFIhfxltR
— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) January 21, 2022
Hannity has already broken his own playbook rules, however. Rep. Thompson’s letter also revealed that Hannity advised McEnany that it was “key” for “no more crazy people” to be permitted to meet with Trump for the balance of his term, to which she replied, “Yes 100%”. And yet, Hannity hosted Trump via phone on his show Thursday night and indulged him in whatever he wanted to speak about.
Trump tries to blame Nancy Pelosi and Muriel Bowser for the January 6 attack on the Capitol that he publicly incited. Utter shamelessness.
Also keep in mind that Hannity's texts make quite clear he knew Trump was to blame for the mayhem. pic.twitter.com/ZwA4PZJEgt
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 21, 2022