Jan 6 texts from Don Jr., Fox News hosts to Meadows read aloud by Cheney to infer Trump culpability

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., vice chair of the Jan. 6 House select committee, read off a series of text messages sent to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows during the rioting at the U.S. Capitol at a hearing Monday night. A notorious Trump hater, Cheney was handpicked by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to sit on the committee, giving the politically motivated endeavor a “bipartisan” label.

The text message were from Donald Trump Jr., and Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, among others, beseeching Meadows to have then-President Trump intervene in some manner to quell the actions of an out-of-control mob. The liberal media reacted breathlessly to the text messages, as if they were proof that Trump was guilty of inciting the alleged insurrection. What is not lost here is that by suggesting that Trump could have ended the siege with the wave of a hand, they’re inferring that he was directly responsible for it to begin with.

“He’s got to condemn this shit ASAP,” Trump Jr. texted. “The Capitol Police tweet is not enough.”

Meadows replied “I’m pushing it hard. I agree.”

“We need an Oval Office address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand,” Trump Jr. then texted.

Several Fox News hosts were texting Meadows as well to take some action to stop the chaos — again, the liberal media took this as evidence that they were somehow acknowledging that Trump was responsible for what was happening, as if he was the ringleader.

“Can he make a statement? Ask people to leave the Capitol,” Sean Hannity texted.

“Mark, president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home. This is hurting all of us. He is destroying his legacy,” Laura Ingraham said in a text.

“Please get him on TV. Destroying everything you have accomplished,” Brian Kilmeade implored.

The purpose of Cheney reading the tweets was to claim that Trump was derelict in his duties as president.

“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, essential and indeed compelled by his oath to our Constitution …” Cheney declared.

“Hours passed without necessary action by the president. These non privileged texts are further evidence of President Trump’s supreme dereliction of duty during those 187 minutes,” she added.

According to reports, the building was first breached at 2:11 p.m. A timeline of Trump’s actions that day shows that within 30 minutes of that breach he tweeted: “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”

Just over 30 minutes later, as rioters reached the Senate floor, the president again appealed for peace, tweeting: “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!”

An hour later, at 4:17 p.m., he released a video appealing to the mob: “I know your pain, I know you’re hurt. But you have to go home now, we have to have peace. We have to have law and order, we have to respect our great people in law and order.”

At the lawful “Stop the Steal” rally held before the Capitol riot, Trump said during his remarks, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

Twitter would take down Trump’s account that same day, as the former president continued to express concerns about the integrity of the election results.

While the media has little interest in Trump’s efforts to prevent violence, they are all in on promoting what many see as a Democrat “show trial,” as seen in the response to CNN’s Brian Stelter complaining that Fox News, Newsmax TV, and One America News were not airing the hearings:

Meadows pulled out of a tentative deal to cooperate with Pelosi’s select committee, in part because the panel subpoenaed Meadows’ private phone records from a telecom company, according to this attorney George Terwilliger III.

“Mr. Meadows has consistently sought in good faith to pursue an accommodation with the Select Committee and up until yesterday we believed that could be obtained,” Terwilliger wrote. “We acted on the belief that the Select Committee would receive, also in good faith, relevant, responsive but non-privileged facts. We have consistently communicated to the Select Committee that Mr. Meadows is precluded from making a unilateral decision to waive Executive Privilege claims asserted by the former president.”

The committee responded this week to recommend Meadows for criminal contempt charges for his refusal to comply with a subpoena to testify and deliver documents to the congressional panel.

Tom Tillison

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