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The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol has requested that Fox News host Sean Hannity sit down with the panel as it continues its investigation into the attack.
Axios broke the news, which committee member Rep. Adam Schiff (D, Calif.) later confirmed to MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson on her 3 p.m. show.
Rep. Schiff said he believes Hannity “was texting with the chief of staff and that he has information that would be relevant to our committee,” adding, “He was more than a host on Fox. He was also a confidant, adviser, campaigner for the former president. And I would hope that, if he’s asked by the committee, as I expect he will be very soon, that he would cooperate with us… you will get confirmation of this very soon — we are making a voluntary request that he speak with the committee.”
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 conservative TV personality often served as an informal adviser to then-President Trump during his four-year term in office, and the Jan. 6 committee revealed last month that Hannity texted then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the attack to implore him to get Trump to stop his supporters.
“Can he [Trump] make a statement, ask people to leave the Capitol,” Hannity texted Meadows, according to the Jan. 6 panel.
Hannity condemned the attack on the U.S. Capitol on his Fox News show the following evening, saying on the Jan. 7, 2021 broadcast that “all of today’s perpetrators must be arrested and prosecuted.” However, as Axios notes, Hannity has previously criticized the committee investigating the attack.
The panel said it had “dozens” of Hannity’s text messages to Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff who briefly cooperated with the investigation and shared records with the panel, along with other Trump associates.
“We can’t lose the entire WH counsels office,” Hannity texted Meadows on Dec. 31, 2020, amid concerns that Trump’s White House lawyers would quit in protest against plans to challenge the election results in January. “I do NOT see January 6 happening the way he is being told. After the 6 th. [sic] He should announce will lead the nationwide effort to reform voting integrity. Go to Fl and watch Joe mess up daily. Stay engaged. When he speaks people will listen.”
On Tuesday night, Hannity attorney Jay Sekulow, who represented Trump in his first impeachment trial and frequently appears on Hannity’s show, said he was reviewing the committee’s request.
“We are evaluating the letter from the committee. We remain very concerned about the constitutional implications especially as it relates to the First Amendment. We will respond as appropriate,” Sekulow said.
