of the omicron variant as the cdc now forecasts a rise in covid deaths in the coming weeks. dr. fauci is standing by live. he will discuss all of these disturbing developments, the pandemic is escalating right now here in the united states. then president biden just got a firsthand look at tornado destruction in kentucky. he s calling it beyond belief and vowing to do whatever it takes to help communities rebuild. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world, i m wolf blitzer and you re in the situation room. we begin with the insurrection investigation, key witness mark meadows now just one step away from potential prosecution for failing to comply fully with the january 6 committee. whitney wild is working the story for us. you have new information right now about who was behind one of the explosive text messages to meadows. we are learning it was representative jim jordan who texted mark meadows this, that as president of the senate,
what we are learning tonight about that officer s training. let s go out front. and good evening, i m erin burnett. out front tonight, the breaking news. the house is set to start voting this hour to hold mark meadows in contempt of congress after meadows refused to comply with the subpoena from the january 6th select committee. tonight s vote shows the length congress is willing to go to punish those who refuse to cooperate with the investigation into one of the worst attacks on the u.s. capitol. well, the worst since the war of 1812. this is a monumental move by the house, and that is not just because of what it is about. it is the first time that they are voting to hold a former member of congress in criminal contempt in nearly 200 years. so, if this resolution passes, and as i said, anticipate this here happening any moment, the decision to prosecute trump s former chief of staff will move to president biden s justice department and as we await this vote, we are learnin
and did not do in the hours leading up to the deadly attack and late out in painstaking detail the case to hold mr. meadows in contempt. paula reed starts from the capitol. it was a revealing hearing. what new information did the committee lay out? reporter: extraordinary is exactly the right word. the house select committee laying out new evidence they have obtained, including messages that the former chief of staff mark meadows received from several fox news personalities during the insurrection. this includes messages from sean hannity, ryan kill immediate, and laura ingraham urging meadows to get the president to do something. they also described messages from the president s son, donald trump jr., also pushing meadows to have the president say something, do something. here the vice chairwoman of the committee liz cheney lays out the evidence they collected. let s take a listen. according to the records, multiple fox news hosts knew the president needed to act immedia
decision to no longer cooperate with the january 6th committee. the panel released explosive new details in a public meeting last night, including frantic text messages sent to meadows from members of former president trump s inner circle as violence unfolded at the capitol. and it is important to know these texts paint a starkly different picture from the public message trump allies have pushed since january 6th in which they have downplayed, glossed over the riots. the tests show unnamed lawmakers, fox news personalities and even donald trump jr. panicked, desperate, pleading with meadows to get trump to tell his supporters to stand down. here s committee vice chairwoman liz cheney. take a listen. multiple fox news hosts knew the president needed to act immed immediately. quote, mark, the president needs to tell people in the capitol to go home. this is hurting all of us. he is destroying his legacy, laura ingraham wrote. one of the president s sons texted mr. meadows,
from fox hosts, others from republican lawmakers. one text said quote the president needs to stop this asap. another pleads quote mark, protesters are literally storming the capitol, breaking windows, and doors, rushing in. is trump going to say something? cnn senior legal affairs correspondent paula reid is here. obviously these new texts reveal so much aor newly released text reveal so much. what s the legal argument. look, you have handed over 9,000 pages of records, clearly you didn t think those were covered by privilege, and if you did, you waived it. come in and answer questions about the materials you handed us. if you are concerned about any question asked or issue that you think may be covered by executive privilege, raise is there to that question. that s the way this usually works. meadows now after cooperating for some time, being engaged, willing to sit for an interview, he s stopped cooperating with the committee, refusing to comply with the subpoena, and the