Thread by @washingtonpost

The panicked texts started landing in Mark Meadows’s phone long before Jan. 6, 2021.

Fox News host Sean Hannity shot off a text on New Year’s Eve, warning the White House chief of staff of mass resignations in the White House Counsel’s Office. wapo.st/3GUZ1tB

The ping-pong of private Hannity missives was a far cry from the contents of his show, where he continued to amplify the arguments for electoral objections despite his stated fears. wapo.st/3GUZ1tB

These and thousands of other frantic, ephemeral text messages that might have otherwise been lost to history are now key to piecing together the most vivid and comprehensive picture to date of the events surrounding the chaos at the Capitol. wapo.st/3GUZ1tB

The texts, obtained by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault, are among the most important tools the panel has to bring home the gravity of what happened that day, the planning that preceded it and the concern for democracy that lingered in the aftermath.

The committee so far has publicly revealed only a sliver of the thousands of text messages it has received.

Meadows also turned over a barrage of messages from people questioning the election results ahead of the Jan. 6 rally. wapo.st/3GUZ1tB