Jan. 6 committee asks Fox News host Sean Hannity to cooperate with probe
![Sean Hannity, host at Fox News, broadcasts from the Republican National Convention at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore, Md., on Aug. 26, 2020.](https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best/newscms/2022_01/3492763/210720-sean-hannity-ew-700p.jpg)
The House committee probing the jan.6 riot wants Fox News host Sean Hannity to voluntarily cooperate with its investigation, citing newly released communications that it says show detailed discussions with the White House around the time of the attack on the Capitol.
"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," committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said in a letter to Hannity made public Tuesday night.
"You also had relevant communications while the riot was underway, and in the days thereafter," the letter went on to say, noting that the House panel has "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."
The letter included what it described as a text Hannity sent to Meadows on Jan. 5, when he said he was “very worried about the next 48 hours.”
"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 two lawmakers wrote.
Another text message released by the committee Tuesday showed that Hannity and then-President Donald Trump weren't on the same page about Trump's false claims that the election had been stolen from him.
"He can’t mention the election again. Ever. I did not have a good call with him today. And worse, I’m not sure what is left to do or say," Hannity said in a Jan. 10 text to Meadows and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, according to the letter.
Thompson and Cheney said they would also like to ask Hannity about "any conversations you had with Mr. Meadows or others about any effort to remove the President under the 25th Amendment."
"We have no doubt that you love our country and respect our Constitution. Now is the time to step forward and serve the interests of your country," they wrote.
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