Kayleigh McEnany, who served as White House press secretary through the final months of the Trump administration, has turned over a tranche of text messages to the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, according to a new report from ABC. McEnany was originally subpoenaed by the committee, which demanded both records and testimony from the ex-official, late last year, and she’s already appeared before investigators for questioning. Apparently, text messages that the panel obtained directly from McEnany were featured in a recent letter from investigators asking for testimony from Ivanka Trump; the text exchange features Fox host Sean Hannity calling for “no more stolen election talk” and McEnany replying (to that and other things) by saying “[that] is the playbook.” Obviously, pushing for that so-called “playbook” didn’t exactly work out.
A pair of Republican governors, Asa Hutchinson and Larry Hogan, have now said Trump that should not be the future of the GOP.
Hogan: "With America on the wrong path, the stakes are too high to double down on failure."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 1, 2022
McEnany provided testimony to committee investigators on January 13. Although the exact topics that were under discussion in her apparently hours-long appearance before the panel weren’t immediately fully clear, the committee previously noted in a press release how she repeatedly helped trumpet false claims that there was systematic fraud in the last presidential election. The committee also noted that McEnany “was reportedly present at times with the former President as he watched the January 6th attack.” Investigators have specifically targeted what went on at the White House around the time of the riot; recently, the panel obtained cooperation from Ben Williamson, who was a top aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows at the time of the riot. Williamson “was in the West Wing of the White House while the attack on the US Capitol was underway,” CNN reported.
New: Ex-White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany turned over text messages to Jan. 6 committee – ABC News – https://t.co/vwKdL03Jpe w/ @jonkarl, @wsteaks
— Ben Siegel (@bensiegel) February 1, 2022
Overall, the riot panel has apparently heard from over 400 individuals, and recently, the committee also scored a significant victory in their quest for relevant records when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an argument from former President Donald Trump that certain records from his administration shouldn’t be given to investigators. Among those records was a draft executive order that outlined a plan for the Defense Department to seize voting machines and other election-related materials, essentially taking over the continuance of the electoral process in the United States — a disturbing prospect. The items were to be placed under a sham investigation. Records associated with McEnany were also among what was set to be handed over; those records included “proposed talking points” for the then-White House press secretary, as a court filing from last year described the materials.
Rep Raskin on Trump's 1/30 memo: "Look no further for the Trump smoking gun: he admits his purpose – to overturn the election. His job was to uphold the Constitution, take care that laws would be faithfully executed. He trashed the Constitution and tried to execute the Republic."
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) January 31, 2022
