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- Messages from Fox News host Sean Hannity are included a newly published list of texts from Mark Meadows
- CNN obtained texts between Hannity and Meadows on Election Day.
- Hannity asked Meadows what he should focus on while on-air to best help the Trump team.
Fox News host Sean Hannity asked former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to which states he should highlight on-air for a voter “push” to help then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, according to text messages published by CNN.
On the afternoon of November 3, Hannity sent a text message to Meadows inquiring about the level of turnout in North Carolina, a hotly-contested state that Trump eventually won that year by a little over 1% of the vote.
Meadows replied to Hannity: “Stress every vote matters. Get out and vote.”
Hannity replied: “Yes sir. On it. Any place in particular we need a push.”
Meadows replied: “Pennsylvania. NC AZ,” before adding “Nevada.”
Hannity responded to the message: “Got it. Everywhere.”
Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Nevada were all competitive states that Trump and now-President Joe Biden sought to win in the 2020 election — with both men competing hard to boost turnout in the states before the election.
Biden came out ahead in each state, but won all three narrowly — and Trump remains fixated on Arizona and Pennsylvania as sources of potential voter fraud, despite no evidence showing such irregularities.
A Republican-led “forensic” audit in Maricopa County, Ariz., in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election showed virtually little change from the results that were certified in 2020.
In January, text messages from the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot found an exchange between Hannity and former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, whom Hannity offered a “playbook” for her to get Trump to underscore the severity of January 6.
At the time, Hannity’s attorney, Jay Sekulow — who also served as Trump’s first impeachment lawyer — issued a statement raising First Amendment concerns about the committee seeking evidence from the opinion host.
“We are evaluating the letter from the committee,” Sekulow wrote on January 4. “We remain very concerned about the constitutional implications especially as it relates to the First Amendment. We will respond as appropriate.”
Fox News did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment from either Hannity or his legal counsel.
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