On Tuesday night, the House of Representatives found Mark Meadows — Donald Trump’s former Chief of Staff — in contempt of Congress for failing to cooperate with its investigation of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
When someone is found in contempt of Congress, the Department of Justice — which is run by the Attorney General — decides whether to prosecute.
Tell Attorney General Merrick Garland to prosecute Mark Meadows to the full extent of the law.
We learned a lot on Tuesday — including that Meadows was getting text messages from VIPs at Fox News, and from one of Trump’s own sons, as the attempted coup unfolded.
- Meadows got a text from Fox’s Laura Ingraham: “Mark, the president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home. This is hurting all of us. He is destroying his legacy.”
- Meadows got a text from Fox’s Sean Hannity: “Can [Trump] make a statement? … Ask people to leave the Capitol.”
- Meadows got a text from Fox’s Brian Kilmeade: “Please, get [Trump] on TV. Destroying everything you have accomplished.”
- Meadows even got a text from Donald Trump Jr.: “[Dad]’s got to condemn this sh*t. ASAP. The Capitol police tweet is not enough.”
- And another: “We need an Oval address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand.”
Funny, those same Fox News figures have spent a lot of time since January 6 telling us that the savage act of sedition we all saw with our own eyes was a peaceful protest and that any violence was a “false flag” operation by antifa or Black Lives Matter.
And they’ve doubled down on those lies, groveling at the feet of Trump and others who incited the insurrection and glorifying those who carried out the assault on the Capitol.
Not that it’s at all surprising to see still more evidence that Fox News is a shady hive of liars, sycophants, and opportunists.
The Trump gang has repeatedly ignored and stonewalled Congress. It’s (past) time to hold them accountable.
Add your name now to our petition urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to prosecute Mark Meadows to the full extent of the law.
Thanks for taking action.
For progress,
- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen
Public Citizen | 1600 20th Street NW | Washington DC 20009 | Unsubscribe