From left: Donald Trump, Allen Weisselberg and Donald Trump Jr.Photo: Evan Vucci/AP/Shutterstock
Donald Trump’s eldest son was among those who pleaded former chief of staffMark Meadowsto urge the former president to condemn thedeadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
On Monday, the House select committee investigating the Capitol insurrectionvoted to recommendthat Meadows be held in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify to investigators.
During a briefing where the recommendation was announced,Rep. Liz Cheneyof Wyoming read aloud a text conversation in whichDonald Trump Jr. begged Meadows to encourage Trump to take stronger action against the rioters.
Meadows responded to Trump Jr., writing: “I’m pushing it hard. I agree,” Cheney revealed.
In a series of follow-up texts, Trump Jr. continued: “We need an Oval Office address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.”
The texts come from a series of messages that Meadows provided to the committee, which show that lawmakers, administration officials, and multiple Fox News personalities were among those who urged Meadows to level with the president about the attack.
“Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home. This is hurting all of us. He is destroying his legacy,” Fox News host Laura Ingraham wrote, according to Cheney.
Sean Hannity asked: “Can he make a statement? Ask people to leave the Capitol.”
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Another text Meadows received from an unidentified person read: “We are under siege here at the Capitol.”
After reading the messages aloud, Cheney said that the committee would be recommending that the House of Representatives hold Meadows in contempt of Congress for refusing to appear for a deposition. The decision will now go to a full House vote.
Rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.Samuel Corum/Getty
Meadows is one of several former Trump administration officials who is facing a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee. Others include former senior advisers to the presidentStephen MillerandJason Miller, former White House Press SecretaryKayleigh McEnany, manager of the Trump 2020 reelection campaign Bill Stepien and former National Security AdvisorMichael Flynn.
Trump is also among those compelled to bring forward relevant documents, after ajudge denied the former president’s requestto block the committee from seeing records related to the planning, execution and response to events on Jan. 6.
The former president “does not acknowledge the deference owed to the incumbent President’s judgement. His position that he may override the express will of the executive branch appears to be premised on the notion that his executive power ‘exists in perpetuity,’ " U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan said in the ruling. “But Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President. He retains the right to assert that his records are privileged, but the incumbent President ‘is not constitutionally obliged to honor’ that assertion.”
According to the judge’s decision, the committee is seeking written communications, calendar entries, videos, photographs or other media related to Trump’s Jan. 6 speech and rally, the march that followed, the violence at the Capitol and the White House’s response.
source: people.com
