January 6 Committee Is Exposing Trump's Cable News Cabinet

While the House January 6 Committee is uncovering crucial evidence of Trump's attempted coup, they are also exposing the depth of involvement in the former guy's presidency of Fox News hosts. In the letter to Sean Hannity asking for his cooperation, the committee unveiled a few of his texts with Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. 

December 31, 2020: "We can't lose the entire WH counsels office. I do NOT see January 6 happening the way he is being told. After the 6th [sic] He should announce will lead the nationwide effort to reform voting integrity. Go to FL and watch Joe mess up daily. Stay engaged. When he speaks people will listen."

January 10, 2021: "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?"

That second one was sent to Rep. Jim Jordan, in addition to Mark Meadows. In other texts, Hannity said, on January 5, that he was "very worried about the next 48 hours" and seemed to be aware of conversations among Cabinet members about invoking the 25th Amendment on the day of the insurrection. 

The committee had already revealed that, on January 6, Hannity joined Laura Ingraham and Brian Kilmeade in begging Meadows to talk Trump into stopping the violence at the Capital. 

We often talk about "access journalism," but this is evidence that, when it came to people like Sean Hannity, things went to a whole new level with Trump. Hannity was not just cozying up to the president, he was playing the role of an advisor. 

Back in the spring of 2018, Robert Costa wrote this: 

The phone calls between President Trump and Sean Hannity come early in the morning or late at night, after the Fox News host goes off the air. They discuss ideas for Hannity’s show, Trump’s frustration with the ongoing special counsel probe and even, at times, what the president should tweet, according to people familiar with the conversations. When he’s off the phone, Trump is known to cite Hannity when he talks with White House advisers...The conservative commentator is so close to Trump that some White House aides have dubbed him the unofficial chief of staff...

Trump and Hannity usually speak several times a week, according to people familiar with their relationship. The Fox News host, whose show averages more than 3 million viewers daily, is one of the few people who gets patched immediately to Trump. The two men review news stories and aspects of Hannity’s show, and occasionally debate specifics about whatever the president is considering typing out on Twitter. There have also been times when Trump has assessed the merits of various White House aides with Hannity.

But it wasn't just Sean Hannity. 

[Lou] Dobbs doesn’t get to just interview and socialize with the president; he is involved in some of the administration’s more sensitive discussions. During the first year of the Trump era, the president has patched in Dobbs via speakerphone to multiple meetings in the Oval Office so that he could offer his two cents, according to three sources familiar with these conversations. Trump will ask Dobbs for his opinion before and after his senior aides or Cabinet members have spoken. Occasionally, he will cut off an official so the Fox Business host can jump in.

Then, there was the often documented feedback loop between Trump and Fox and Friends. 

All of that is why we often referred to Fox News as Trump's cable news cabinet. Over the course of four years, we all just came to accept the fact that the president not only had his own propaganda network, but that they were acting as his close advisors. In reality, it was extraordinary. 

Of course, the main concern is the distortion of the word "news" and how that undermines the whole concept of journalism. But back in 2010, David Frum pointed out that media personalities (his example at the time was Rush Limbaugh, another member of Trump's cabinet) have very different jobs than elected leaders.

I’ve been on a soapbox for months now about the harm that our overheated talk is doing to us. Yes it mobilizes supporters — but by mobilizing them with hysterical accusations and pseudo-information, overheated talk has made it impossible for representatives to represent and elected leaders to lead. The real leaders are on TV and radio, and they have very different imperatives from people in government. Talk radio thrives on confrontation and recrimination...If Republicans succeed — if they govern successfully in office and negotiate attractive compromises out of office — Rush’s listeners get less angry. And if they are less angry, they listen to the radio less, and hear fewer ads for Sleepnumber beds.

With Trump, overheated talk merged with the presidency. Confrontation and recrimination became their shared goals, which kept their troops angry and engaged. That is what eventually laid the groundwork for January 6.