'Yes, sir. On it': Sean Hannity offered to help Trump on Election Day, Mark Meadows text messages show

Fox News host Sean Hannity, like many other allies of former President Donald Trump, urged then–White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to get Trump to call off his supporters during the Jan. 6 Capitol siege, according to text messages Meadows turned over to the House Jan. 6 committee. A new batch of Meadows texts obtained by CNN gives a broader picture of the role Hannity and other Trump allies played before and after Jan. 6.
Hannity was among the most frequent correspondents in the 2,319 text messages Meadows turned over to the Jan. 6 committee, CNN reports. On Election Day, for example, Hannity texted Meadows in the afternoon, asking if North Carolina was "gonna be okay." Meadows wrote back, urging Hannity to tell his radio show listeners: "Stress every vote matters. Get out and vote."
"Yes sir. On it," Hannity responded. "Any place in particular we need a push?"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That's not how journalists, even openly partisan opinion hosts, are supposed to interact with the White House, CNN's Dana Bash notes. "In past years, Fox News has attempted to set some boundaries for its on-air personalities," especially Hannity, The Washington Post reports. But these text messages "suggest that Hannity saw himself as part of the broader pro-Trump campaign apparatus on Election Day."
"Throughout the logs, Hannity both gives advice and asks for direction," which was a common theme throughout Trump's presidency, CNN reports. Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham recounted in January that "there were times the president would come down the next morning and say, 'Well, Sean thinks we should do this,' or, 'Judge Jeanine thinks we should do this.'"
"When you look at these messages, if this is what Meadows turned over willingly to the Jan. 6 committee, you have to wonder what's in the rest of the documents, because these are so damning," said CNN's Jamie Gangel. Meadows withheld more than 1,000 messages from the Jan. 6 committee, claiming executive privilege, the committee said in a court filing Friday.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Video games to curl up with this fall, including Ghost of Yotei and LEGO Party
The Week Recommends Several highly anticipated video games are coming this fall
-
‘Peak consumption has become the Holy Grail of the energy debate’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Nadine Menendez gets 4.5 years in bribery case
Speed Read Menendez's husband was previously sentenced to 11 years in prison
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants