Former US President Donald Trump’s eldest son and several Fox News anchors had begged the White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to get the president to call off the hordes of his supporters ransacking the US congress on January 6, contrary to their strident public defence of it.
A committee of the US House of Representatives that is investigating the January 6 insurrection also recommended the criminal prosecution of Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows on Monday and released text messages from approximately 9,000 documents turned over by him.
“He’s got to condemn this shit ASAP,” Donald Trump Jr, former president’s eldest son, had texted Meadows. “The Capitol Police tweet is not enough.”
“I’m pushing it hard. I agree,” Meadows replied. “We need an Oval Office address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand,” Trump Jr texted back.
Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingram, who are both loud Trump supporters, had also texted Meadows pleading with him to persuade Donald Trump to call off his supporters, which is quite the opposite position they have taken since, downplaying the insurrection. “Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home,” Ingram wrote, adding, “This is hurting all of us. He is destroying his legacy.”
Liz Cheney, the top Republican on the investigation committee, read out these texts before she and the eight members of the panel voted to recommend criminal prosecution of Meadow for defying a congressional subpoena to testify about his role and what was going on at the White House at the time.
The full House will vote on the panel’s recommendation sometime this week and if approved, Meadows will become the second witness to face contempt in this case.
Steve Bannon, a former Trump aide, was the first when he refused to testify citing the former president’s executive privilege, a claim that was struck down by a court.
Meadows also tried the same trick: Trump’s executive privilege – which, however, has been waived by President Biden. Only the sitting president can claim executive privilege, to retain the confidentiality of their communications, including of certain members of the administration.
Meadows, who is a former member of the House of Representatives, had agreed to testify initially but changed his mind later. It was possibly because of pushback from Donald Trump triggered, among other things, by uncharitable revelations in a recently released tell-all book by the former chief of staff about his time in the Trump White House.
Meadows had turned over approximately 9,000 documents and records to the committee already before he sought to shut down his cooperation by refusing to testify. They include the text messages US Rep Liz Cheney read out, blowing open the hypocrisy of Trump supporters who were privately revolted by the event they have publicly defended or downplayed.