Sean Hannity Told Trump After Jan. 6: ‘No More Stolen Election Talk.’

The Fox Information host Sean Hannity had some blunt recommendation for President Donald J. Trump on Jan. 7, 2021: “No extra stolen election discuss.”

His steering did not take. However paperwork disclosed on Thursday confirmed in vivid element simply how carefully Mr. Hannity had labored with White Home aides in a fervent, if temporary, effort to influence Mr. Trump to desert his false claims about voter fraud after the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol.

Sooner or later after the assault, Mr. Hannity despatched a textual content message to Kayleigh McEnany, then the White Home press secretary, describing a five-point plan for approaching conversations with the president, in response to paperwork launched by the Home committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot.

After urging Ms. McEnany to keep away from dialogue of a “stolen election,” Mr. Hannity proffered one other speaking level to make use of with Mr. Trump: “Sure, impeachment and twenty fifth modification are actual, and many individuals will stop …”

Mr. Hannity gave the impression to be referring to the chances that Mr. Trump could possibly be impeached, face mass resignations from his employees or be briefly faraway from workplace by a bunch of his cupboard secretaries invoking the twenty fifth Modification.

Ms. McEnany replied: “Love that. Thanks. That’s the playbook. I’ll assist reinforce.”

Fox Information, the place Ms. McEnany is now a commentator and a co-host of a weekday program, declined to touch upon Thursday.

In public, Mr. Hannity and Ms. McEnany stay lock-step supporters of Mr. Trump and his worldview. However their personal exchanges present the extent of alarm amongst even the president’s closest allies after the Jan. 6 riot, as Mr. Trump persevered in his false claims that the election had been stolen from him and his political future appeared deeply precarious.

The exchanges had been included in a letter despatched by the Home committee to Ivanka Trump, Mr. Trump’s daughter and one in every of his senior advisers. The committee is seeking Ms. Trump’s cooperation because it tries to piece collectively a scramble contained in the White Home to influence Mr. Trump to denounce the attackers on the Capitol.

In one other change included within the letter, Mr. Hannity urged Ms. McEnany to maintain the president away from sure advisers. “Key now. No extra loopy folks,” Mr. Hannity wrote. Ms. McEnany replied: “Sure 100%.”

This month, the Home committee asked Mr. Hannity to cooperate and reply questions on his communications with Mr. Trump and his aides within the days surrounding the riot. On the time, the committee disclosed messages through which Mr. Hannity suggested Mark Meadows, then the White Home chief of employees, on the president’s political future. “He can’t point out the election once more. Ever,” Mr. Hannity wrote on Jan. 10, 2021, to Mr. Meadows and Consultant Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican.

A lawyer for Mr. Hannity, Jay Sekulow, has mentioned the committee’s request to interview Mr. Hannity raises “First Modification issues relating to freedom of the press.”

Luke Broadwater contributed reporting.