Fox News host Sean Hannity blasted numerous "mainstream media" figures and outlets as "liars" in response to the Mueller investigation on Monday.
Pledging to hold "mainstream" figures accountable for their role in "the biggest abuse of power, corruption, scandal perhaps in history," Hannity praised the reporting of his "logical" Fox News colleagues.
On Sunday, Attorney General William Barr released a summary of Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Per Barr's four-page summary letter, the special counsel's probe found no evidence that either President Donald Trump or his associates conspired with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election.
On Monday's episode of Hannity, the host said Fox News personalities such as Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson, Fox Business's Lou Dobbs, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh and others were "brave, logical thinkers standing on their own."
Others, he claimed, had rushed to judge the president before the Mueller inquiry was completed. Referring to "mainstream media" players as a "corrupt media mob" and a "Democratic party mob," Hannity blamed them for dividing the American public on such issues as alleged collusion, Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination, and actor Jussie Smollett's recent assault claim.
The host criticized outlets including The Atlantic, The Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC, calling out media personalities, such as television host Rachel Maddow and columnist Jennifer Rubin, by name. He blasted CNN boss Jeff Zucker, NBC's Phil Griffin and billionaire entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, whose empire includes The Washington Post. He asked them to apologize for spreading "conspiracy theories" and "lies" daily.
Going forward, Hannity promised to "unravel the truth" and "hold every liar, every propagandist, every conspiracy theorist accountable."
Hannity himself has been accused of spreading conspiracy theories, including the baseless "birther" theory about President Obama. Although he has said now he believes Obama was born in the U.S., in March 2011 he repeatedly called for the former leader to produce a birth certificate. Limbaugh and Dobbs also called for the certificate's release.
During the 2016 election, the host devoted hours of television to investigations of Hillary Clinton's health, fueling rumors that she was covering up serious medical problems, as The Washington Post noted at the time. On Monday's show, he called on the Justice Department to reopen its "horribly flawed" investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server during her time as secretary of state.
Hannity's relationship with Trump has been called into question on a number of occasions. A 2018 New York magazine article reported that the host talked with the president over the phone almost every weeknight, for example. Hannity reportedly failed to disclose that he had consulted the president's former lawyer Michael Cohen. The host subsequently downplayed their relationship, as The Hill noted last year.
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About the writer
Katherine Hignett is a reporter based in London. She currently covers current affairs, health and science. Prior to joining Newsweek ... Read more
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