On the night of January 6th, 2021, the spin on the day’s insurrection had already begun. Fox News TV show hosts either insisted that the real culprits were Antifa and Black Lives Matter or that the violence and the threat to our democracy were not all that bad and were being overblown by Democrats and mainstream media. Republican lawmakers said after the attack that Donald Trump was not responsible for the attack and any attempt to hold him accountable for it was just partisan.
And then Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) read their January 6th text messages to Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, and any further argument about whether they knew the insurrection was an attack on the Capitol Building was horrifying and who exactly they believed was responsible for that attack was exposed for every American to see.
"These texts leave no doubt: the White House knew exactly what was happening at the Capitol. Members of Congress, the press, and others wrote to Mark Meadows as the attack was underway."
-Vice Chair @RepLizCheney pic.twitter.com/HMoQhQ8nSK— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) December 14, 2021
On and around January 6th, Mark Meadows received dozens of text messages from lawmakers about the violent attack on our Capitol.
Meadows doesn’t think he should have to come in and answer questions about these messages. He thinks the American people should be left in the dark. pic.twitter.com/ARo04s5JIa
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) December 14, 2021
On January 6th, our democracy was inches from ruin. Members, staff and police officers were terrorized, and people lost their lives.
Mark Meadows won't answer questions about this brutal attack. So tonight, the Select Committee will vote to cite Meadows for contempt of Congress. pic.twitter.com/dZdTJmgc7d
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) December 13, 2021
"[Meadows will] share details about his interactions with the former President with Laura Ingraham… Sean Hannity… anyone who will shell out 25 bucks for his book. But in the face of a lawful subpoena… the only things Mr. Meadows will share are his excuses."
–@RepPeteAguilar— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) December 14, 2021
BREAKING: The Select Committee has unanimously voted to adopt the report recommending Mark Randall Meadows for criminal contempt. pic.twitter.com/HxZHpI1xAl
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) December 14, 2021
From the texts read aloud on the floor of the House during a vote to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with the committee, it is clear that Republican lawmakers and Fox News personalities were stunned by the extent of the attack and that only one person could stop it: the now twice-impeached ex-president who lost the popular vote twice, Donald Trump. They believed he could call the attackers off because they were his supporters and because he was the one to set the attack in motion.
Even his son, Donald Trump, Jr., who has dismissed the severity of the attack as just another partisan attack against his father, begged Meadows to convince his father to call off the attack. They all knew who was responsible and they all helped create a false narrative around an attempt to overthrow the United States’ government.
Twitter had a big reaction to the news from the January 6th committee. Read some of their responses below:
