Donald Trump Jr. Begged Mark Meadows to Urge His Father to Stop Capitol Riot, Texts Reveal

Donald Trump Jr. reportedly texted former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the January 6 Capitol attack begging him to have former President Donald Trump make a speech to stop the riot.

The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack revealed the messages from Trump Jr. before voting to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena on Monday.

Donald Trump Jr. Pleaded to Mark Meadows to Have Father Condemn Capitol Attack

During the briefing hearing, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee's vice chairwoman, read a series of text messages from fellow GOP lawmakers, Fox News personalities, and Donald Trump Jr., pleading Mark Meadows to get Donald Trump to make a speech amid the Capitol riot.

According to Cheney, Trump Jr. texted Meadows to have his father "condemn this shit ASAP," adding that the Capitol Police tweet was "not enough," Axios reported.

Cheney said Meadows replied to Trump Jr., saying he agreed and he's "pushing it hard." The former president's oldest son responded that they needed an Oval Office address and his father "has to leave now" as it "has gone too far and gotten out of hand."

Cheney said that Donald Trump Jr. texted Mark Meadows "again and again." Several known personalities of Fox News also sent text messages to Meadows to urge Trump to act, according to The Daily Beast.

Sean Hannity texted Meadows and asked him if Donald Trump could make a statement and urged the mob to leave the Capitol. Laura Ingraham also texted Meadows and said Trump needed to tell people in the Capitol to go home.

Ingraham added that the Capitol riot was hurting "all of us," and was destroying Trump's "legacy." Donald Trump eventually released a taped video asking his supporters to go home after his congressional allies and aides pleaded. In the video, the former president was still venting his grievance about a stolen election.

Cheney said these text messages leave no doubt that the White House knew what was happening at the Capitol at the time. She called Trump's lack of "immediate action" a "supreme dereliction of duty."

House Committee Probing Capitol Riot Recommends Contempt Charge for Mark Meadows

The texts, which Mark Meadows had provided, had been turned over to the committee. They were reportedly not covered by any claim of privilege, which the former chief of staff has continued to assert since he reversed his decision to cooperate with the investigation.

According to the Associated Press, Meadows has turned over some 6,600 pages of records taken from his personal email accounts and around 2,000 text messages.

Meadows said in one of those emails that the National Guard would be available to "protect pro-Trump people" during the January 6 insurrection, Huff Post reported.

The House committee wanted to know more about these plans, but Meadows has, so far, refused to testify on the matter.

On Monday, the committee voted 9-0 to recommend that Meadows be charged with criminal contempt for ending his cooperation with its probe.

The former chief of staff withdrew his cooperation with the investigation and declined to appear for a deposition last week.

Each count of contempt of Congress carries a penalty of a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail. It also carries a fine of up to $100,000.

The full House is expected to vote as soon as Tuesday on whether to refer the charge or ask the Department of Justice to prosecute Meadows, The New York Times reported.

An organizer of the rally, at one point, turned to Mark Meadows for help, telling him that things "have gotten crazy."

The organizer also said they "desperately need some direction." It was unclear how Meadows responded.

The House committee chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, said it was "jarring" that Mark Meadows would stop cooperating with them, considering he served in Congress for over seven years.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Rep. Liz Cheney Reads January 6th Texts from Fox News Hosts to Mark Meadows - From C-Span