Texts show top Trump defenders' private alarm on Jan. 6

WASHINGTON – As a mob overran the U.S. Capitol past January, immoderate of Donald Trump's highest-profile defenders successful the media — and adjacent his ain lad — sent urgent substance messages to the White House main of unit urging him to get the then-president to bash much to halt the violence.

But they did not publically show that aforesaid consciousness of alarm specified hours aft the deadly insurrection. And they person since joined immoderate of the country's apical Republicans successful downplaying Trump's relation successful the onslaught — portion of a larger effort to rewrite the history of Jan. 6.

Here are immoderate of the frantic messages that Trump allies sent to White House main of unit Mark Meadows arsenic the insurrection was unfolding and what they’ve said publically astir the events since then:

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DONALD TRUMP JR.

“He’s got to condemn this s-— ASAP. The Capitol Police tweet is not enough,” Trump's eldest lad wrote successful a substance connection to Meadows astir his father. That's according to excerpts work Monday by Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, vice seat of a House committee investigating what happened.

Earlier connected Jan. 6, earlier the violence, the younger Trump tweeted that his begetter “has the people!!!” implicit a representation of throngs of pro-Trump demonstrators who gathered successful Washington. When connection began to aboveground that the Capitol was breached, Trump Jr. changed his tone, tweeting, “This is incorrect and not who we are. Be peaceful," and "Don’t commencement acting similar the different side. We person a state to prevention and this doesn’t assistance anyone.”

But, hardly a week aboriginal — and aft the House impeached President Trump for inciting the insurrection — Trump Jr. began advancing the mendacious narrative that authorities knew unit was coming connected Jan. 6 but didn't bash capable to hole — successful portion due to the fact that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ignored warnings astir what mightiness occur.

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“If these national instrumentality enforcement agencies had anterior cognition that this was a planned onslaught past POTUS didn’t incite anything," Trump Jr. tweeted connected Jan. 14. "If helium didn’t incite thing past Nancy Pelosi and the Dems utilized impeachment connected yet different sham governmental witch-hunt.”

GOP members of Congress, including House Republican person Kevin McCarthy, have since advanced likewise mendacious claims astir Pelosi delaying subject assistance to assistance Capitol Police officers trying to quell the attack.

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LAURA INGRAHAM

“Mark, the president needs to archer radical successful the Capitol to spell home,” the Fox News Channel big wrote, according to substance excerpts Cheney read. "This is hurting each of us. He is destroying his legacy.”

But connected her amusement the evening of Jan. 6, Ingraham cited false claims that the rioters included leftist provocateurs, saying, “They were apt not each Trump supporters, and determination are immoderate reports Antifa sympathizers whitethorn person been sprinkled passim the crowd.”

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She added: “If you are a Trump protagonist hoping to show your enactment for the president, well, today's antics astatine the Capitol did conscionable the opposite." Ingraham besides made a false assertion that determination were “legitimate concerns” that elector fraud perchance marred the 2020 predetermination won by Democrat Joe Biden, but she noted, “That ne'er should person lent immoderate licence to unit oregon different chaos.”

Ingraham has since repeatedly downplayed the Jan. 6 attack. In April, she said that “America’s astir unsafe insurrectionists” weren't those who participated successful the mob. Instead, she said, “The existent menace to our aboriginal is Biden, and the well-heeled, almighty forces who privation america to suffer show of what made America large successful the archetypal place.”

During a March telephone interrogation with Trump, Ingraham asked him: “Are you acrophobic that the U.S. Capitol, aft Jan. 6, has go a fortress, protecting the Capitol from the radical who are expected to really beryllium the ones successful complaint here, not the radical who are sitting successful the Capitol?” She past didn't entity erstwhile Trump said that the mob posed “zero threat” and suggested that authorities were “persecuting a batch of those people” for being a portion of it.

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SEAN HANNITY

“Can helium marque a statement? Ask radical to permission the Capitol?" the Fox News Channel big wrote to Meadows astir Trump, according to substance excerpts work by Cheney.

During his amusement the evening of Jan. 6, Hannity said those liable for the onslaught “must beryllium arrested and prosecuted to the afloat grade of the law,” but helium besides rapidly raised concerns that instrumentality enforcement wasn't acceptable for what happened.

“I don’t attraction if the extremist left, extremist close — I don’t cognize who they are. They’re not radical I would support," Hannity said then. "So however were officials not prepared? We got to reply that question. How did they let the Capitol gathering to beryllium breached successful what seemed similar little than a fewer minutes?”

During his amusement connected Monday, Hannity called the House committee investigating the onslaught a “Democrat sham” and a “waste of your clip and money." He besides falsely said Trump had pushed for other Capitol extortion earlier Jan. 6 but was denied by Pelosi.

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Meadows was a impermanent connected Hannity's Monday show, but neither mentioned the substance messages.

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