Note: Some of the texts read aloud during this hearing contain expletives.
The House committee that is investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol voted unanimously Monday night to recommend holding former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in contempt. Before the vote, the committee publicly released text messages sent to Meadows as supporters of former President Donald Trump overpowered Capitol Police officers, gained entry to the Capitol and interrupted lawmakers as they worked to confirm the Electoral College count and President-elect Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. Meadows provided the texts before he decided to stop cooperating with the panel, prompting the committee to hold him in criminal contempt.
“Dozens of texts, including from Trump administration officials, urged immediate action by the president,” Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the vice-chair of the committee, said as she read some of the text messages during the hearing. She noted that, according to the records, several Fox News hosts and one of the president’s sons texted Meadows as the insurrection was happening, urging that the president needed to take action to stop the violence.
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