Trump’s son begged his father to stop the Capitol Riots
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A series of text messages reveal pleas to get Trump to urge rioters at the Capitol to exit the complex.
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From left to right: Donald Trump Jr., and his father, Donald Trump.
Text messages to then-White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, reveal that Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., pleaded his father to urge rioters at the Capitol on January 6 to evacuate the complex.
US lawmaker Liz Cheney, the vice-chair of the committee investigating if the former president had prior knowledge of the riot, disclosed some of the text messages.
Out-of-the-norm text messages
“We need an Oval Office address,” Trump Jr. texted Meadows, Cheney said, adding that the younger Trump had messaged the chief of staff “again and again.”
“He’s got to condemn this s**t ASAP. The Capitol Police tweet is not enough,” Trump Jr. said in another text message.
A trio of Fox News hosts and Republican members of Congress have also pleaded with him. One Republican member of Congress texted Meadows that day: “It is really bad up here on the hill.”
Another wrote, “The president needs to stop this ASAP.”
The third text from a GOP member texted, “Fix this now.”
On his account, Meadows responded, “I’m pushing it hard. I agree.”
The House is set to vote on whether Meadows should be charged with a crime for failing to appear for a deposition with the select committee investigating the January 6 attack.
What happened?
On Monday night, the panel voted unanimously to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress.
Furthermore, Meadows issued a statement Tuesday, stressing that his client is still collaborating with the committee in some ways, but that he cannot be obliged to appear for questioning because he is not "licensed to waive Executive Privilege," as Trump claims.
Meadows’ attorney George Terwilliger said in a statement that his client "has fully cooperated as to documents in his possession that are not privileged and has sought various means to provide other information while continuing to honor the former president's privilege claims."
What about Trump?
Former US President Donald Trump has had his appeal of hiding records related to the January 6 capitol storming rejected.
As a former president, Trump attempted to use his executive privilege to hide the records; however, the US Federal Court of Appeals decided that the current president could override this privilege and have the documents reviewed by a Congressional panel to investigate Trump supporters' violence on the day.
Trump has been repeatedly accused of inciting the violence that occurred.
The Court of Appeals detailed that "the right of a former president certainly enjoys no greater weight than that of the incumbent."
