Sean Hannity has been a close advisor to Donald Trump for his entire presidency, and more pressingly, the Fox News anchor was revealed as one of several media figures who attempted to get Trump to quell the violence during the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building. Naturally, the House select committee investigating the riot would like to speak to Hannity, but it appears to be going a different route than using a subpoena.
According to a new report, the committee plans to ask Hannity for his “voluntary cooperation” in an effort to shed more light on the events leading up to and including the failed coup. However and judging by the response from Hannity’s attorney, the committee probably shouldn’t hold its breath. Via Axios:
Jay Sekulow, counsel to Sean Hannity, told Axios, “If true, any such request would raise serious constitutional issues including First Amendment concerns regarding freedom of the press.”
While the committee has already revealed that it knows Hannity was attempting to contact Trump during the attack, Axios reports that Hannity’s influence on Trump was so huge that he reportedly held more sway than members of the former president’s own cabinet. According to insiders referenced by Axios, Hannity was often referred to as Trump’s “real chief of staff.”
As for Hannity’s frantic January 6 texts, they’ve been a field day for comedians like Trevor Noah who have enjoyed seeing Fox News exposed for publicly downplaying the attack while its anchors were secretly “freaking out” at what Trump had done.
(Via Axios)