Jan. 6 panel asks
to query Hannity
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection on Tuesday requested an interview with Fox News personality Sean Hannity, one of former President Donald Trump's closest allies in the media, as the committee continues to widen its scope.
In a letter to Hannity, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the panel's chairman, said the panel wants to question him regarding his communications with Trump, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and others in Trump's orbit in the days surrounding the insurrection.
A Fox News spokesperson declined to comment about the request. Jay Sekulow, Hannity's lawyer, told Axios, "If true, any such request would raise serious constitutional issues including First Amendment concerns regarding freedom of the press."
Sekulow later told The Associated Press that he had not seen Thompson's letter.
In his letter, Thompson said: "The Select Committee has immense respect for the First Amendment to our Constitution, freedom of the press, and the rights of Americans to express their political opinions freely. For that reason, we do not intend to seek information from you regarding your broadcasts on radio or television, your public reporting or commentary, or your political views regarding any candidate for office."
However, the chairman said, the committee has a responsibility to investigate the dozens of text messages it has in its possession, from Dec. 31, 2020, to Jan. 20, 2021, between Hannity, Trump and Meadows regarding the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and Trump's failed efforts to contest it.
The request is the first by the nine-member panel to a member of the media and opens a new door for the investigation as it widens its scope to any and all people who were in contact with the former president and his inner circle in the time surrounding the attack.
One specific December 2020 text from Hannity to Meadows highlighted in the letter reads: "I do NOT see January 6 happening the way he is being told. After the 6 th. (sic) He should announce will lead the nationwide effort to reform voting integrity. Go to Fl and watch Joe mess up daily. Stay engaged. When he speaks people will listen."
Hannity criticized the violence last Jan. 6. But he's also sharply criticized the committee, saying on the air Dec. 13 after his text to Trump was revealed: "We've been telling you that this is a waste of your time and money. They have a predetermined outcome."
Wife: Police-shot
2022 reveler dies
The Associated Press
CANTON, Ohio -- The wife of a man who was fatally shot by police just minutes into the new year says he had been firing a gun to celebrate the arrival of 2022 when an officer opened fire on him without warning.
Marquetta Williams said her 46-year-old husband, James, had used an AR-15 rifle that belonged to her to fire some celebratory shots early Saturday outside their Canton home. She said the gunfire is an annual tradition in their residential neighborhood in the city, with many neighbors also firing shots in the area filled with older homes that are fairly close together.
James Williams went back in the house but soon decided to go back outside and shoot some more. His wife said he fired four shots into the air and turned to follow her inside, but then told her, "I've been shot."
In a statement issued Saturday, Canton Police Chief Jack Angelo said officers were investigating reports of gunfire when an officer who was outside his vehicle confronted someone who began shooting a firearm. Angelo said the officer feared for his safety and fired his duty weapon at the person, striking him.
The department has since declined further comment on the shooting.
Marquetta Williams said no officers identified themselves before the shooting occurred around 12:05 a.m. James Williams was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"Out of the blue, he said he got shot, he got hit," she said. "I don't know where it came from. Nobody said anything. They didn't say, 'Police.' They didn't say, 'Freeze.' They didn't say, 'Drop your weapon.' They just shot him."
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating, and all evidence including body camera images and firearms has been turned over to the agency. The officer involved has been placed on administrative duty, which is standard procedure in shootings involving police, and his name has not been released.