WASHINGTON (The Hill) – The House Jan. 6 select committee’s request to sit with Ivanka Trump is further highlighting the close relationship Fox News host Sean Hannity had with her father’s White House.
A letter from the panel to Ivanka Trump includes portions of text exchanges from Hannity and then-White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who has since returned to Fox.
In the texts, Hannity recaps just a few points of a broader communications plan for responding to the attack, among other pieces of advice.
“1- No more stolen election talk,” Hannity reportedly texted McEnany, who herself sat down with committee investigators last week after being subpoenaed.
Per the letter, he continued, “2- Yes, impeachment and the 25th amendment are real and many people will quit…”
McEnany reportedly responded “Love that. Thank you. That is the playbook. I will help reinforce…,” though it is unclear what else she may have said.
In another partial exchange relayed by the committee, Hannity said it was “key” to keep the then-President Trump away from certain people, writing, “No more crazy people,” to which McEnany responded, “Yes, 100%.”
Fox News did not immediately respond to request for comment, nor did an attorney for Hannity.
The committee earlier this month asked Hannity to voluntarily sit down with the committee, a similar outreach to the request for cooperation made to Ivanka Trump on Thursday.
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Hannity’s texts have surfaced at various points in the committee’s investigation, including those he sent to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows during the attack, in which Hannity pleaded for Meadows to have the elder Trump intervene in the unfolding event, as well as other messages dealing with strategy.
The letter the panel sent to the Fox News host also indicated he spoke to the former president around Jan. 10, looking ahead to Biden’s inauguration.
“Guys, we have a clear path to land the plane in 9 days. He can’t mention the election again. Ever. I did not have a good call with him today. And worse, I’m not sure what is left to do or say, and I don’t like not knowing if it’s truly understood. Ideas?” Hannity wrote, per the panel.
