ST. LOUIS — Since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Senator Josh Hawley, (R)-MO, has only done Fox News interviews about his book deal or written op-eds in papers -- until this week when he called in to "The Mark Reardon Show" on NewsRadio 1120 KMOX and was questioned about whether he led people to believe the election could be overturned the day rioters tried to stop the Electoral College count.
"Equating an objection, equating a lawful democratic process with violence or saying that we were trying to overturn an election or that we incited people to violence, or that we told people that Trump was going to be president. All of that is a lie," Hawley told host Mark Reardon.
But some believe Hawley shares at least some of the blame for stoking the fire of unfounded election fraud that motivated the mob -- including his one-time mentor former Republican Senator John Danforth who said on MSNBC's "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" that the fervor on Jan. 6 was "ginned up...Hawley was right in the middle of it."
So, what did Hawley say in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6?
On Fox News in the days before the attack, anchor Bret Baier asked Hawley, "Are you trying to say that as of January 20th President Trump will be president?"
"Well, Brett that depends on what happens on Wednesday," Hawley said of the coming Electoral College vote certification in Congress that rioters would try unsuccessfully to stop.
"Don't you have the responsibility to tell them that it's not going to be President Trump as of January 21st?" Baier pressed.
"Well, Brett I'm trying to do something more than just that. I'm trying to do something about the integrity of our elections," Hawley said.
In a mid-December phone interview with 5 On Your Side, Senator Hawley would not acknowledge Joe Biden as the then president-elect.
"Let's let the process play out. January 6th is when it will come to a conclusion, at least in the United States Congress, and then January 20th will have the swearing-in," Hawley said.
"Seventy-four million Americans are not just going to shut up and go away, nor should they. They have legitimate, valid concerns. Those need to be heard," Hawley added.
To be clear, plenty of Republicans are standing behind Hawley. One poll taken in the days immediately after the attack said only 14% of Republicans think he bares any responsibility for the attack on the Capitol.
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