Shortly after the US Capitol Hill riot of 6 January 2020, Fox News host Sean Hannity apparently suggested that then-POTUS Donald Trump may use his powers to aid the son of his political rival Joe Biden, The Daily Beast reports.
According to the media outlet, the development came to light as text messages between Hannity and then-White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany were released by the January 6 Committee this week.
In the said message exchange, Hannity apparently “debriefed” McEnany on a conversation he had with Trump the day after the Capitol Hill riot, with one of the messages saying: “He was intrigued by the pardon idea!! (Hunter)”.
One source familiar with the conversations reportedly said that the “Hunter” mentioned in the exchange was indeed a reference to Hunter Biden, and that Hannity proposed that Trump use his presidential powers to pardon Joe Biden’s son.
The source recalled, however, that the idea “died on the vine”, and that a pardon was “never seriously considered”, the media outlet adds.
The Daily Beast also notes that Hunter, the subject of an ongoing Justice Department investigation, confirmed having his tax history investigated by prosecutors about a month before the 6 January riot.
However, the media outlet points out, it is unclear whether Hunter would have benefitted from a presidential pardon or if he would have accepted it at all, while the supposition he did something wrong “has never been proven”.
In the text messages sent prior to the events of 6 January, Hannity reportedly voiced his concern that Trump was receiving bad advice ahead of the “Stop the Steal” rally – the rally that preceded the riot.
On 9 June, the House Select Committee to Investigate the 6 January Attack on the United States Capitol held its first public hearing, laying out its case against the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump.