SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Sean Hannity admitted that reports of President Trump's attempt to fire Robert Mueller were true on his show--but suggested the development didn't matter, despite agreement across the political spectrum that an attempt by the president to interfere with Mueller's investigation is a "red line." (Photo: @BusinessInsider/Twitter)
Forced to Backpedal on Trump-Mueller Story, Clip of Sean Hannity Fail Goes Viral
Over the course of one broadcast, the Fox News host went from denying the New York Times' report to confirming it to suggesting it was insignificant
Jan 26, 2018
Viewers of the Sean Hannity Show watched in real-time Thursday night as their host was forced to admit that reports of President Donald Trump's attempt to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller were true, after he'd spent part of the broadcast attacking the New York Times' story.
Later, countless people online witnessed Hannity's coverage as the clip went viral.
Early in the show, Sean Hannity dismissed the Times' report that Trump had ordered the dismissal of Mueller, who stepped in to run the FBI's investigation of the Trump campaign's ties to Russia after the president fired former FBI director James Comey last spring.
"The New York Times is trying to distract you," Hannity told his audience. "They have a story that Trump wanted Mueller fired sometime last June, and our sources, and I've checked in with many of them, they're not confirming that tonight...And how many times has the New York Times and others gotten it wrong?"
He later said that his sources could indeed confirm that the story was true.
Watch:
Although Hannity's tone in his first mention of the story suggested that the Times' report, if true, would be a significant development, he took on a dismissive attitude when acknowledging that the president wanted to fire the official in charge of investigating him.
"Yeah, maybe Donald Trump wanted to fire the special counsel for conflict. Does he not have the right to raise those questions?" he said, shrugging, before quickly changing the subject to a high-speed car chase in Arizona.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have said that attempting to fire Mueller is a red line that the president must not cross.
On social media, Hannity's backtracking garnered attention from journalists and critics.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Viewers of the Sean Hannity Show watched in real-time Thursday night as their host was forced to admit that reports of President Donald Trump's attempt to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller were true, after he'd spent part of the broadcast attacking the New York Times' story.
Later, countless people online witnessed Hannity's coverage as the clip went viral.
Early in the show, Sean Hannity dismissed the Times' report that Trump had ordered the dismissal of Mueller, who stepped in to run the FBI's investigation of the Trump campaign's ties to Russia after the president fired former FBI director James Comey last spring.
"The New York Times is trying to distract you," Hannity told his audience. "They have a story that Trump wanted Mueller fired sometime last June, and our sources, and I've checked in with many of them, they're not confirming that tonight...And how many times has the New York Times and others gotten it wrong?"
He later said that his sources could indeed confirm that the story was true.
Watch:
Although Hannity's tone in his first mention of the story suggested that the Times' report, if true, would be a significant development, he took on a dismissive attitude when acknowledging that the president wanted to fire the official in charge of investigating him.
"Yeah, maybe Donald Trump wanted to fire the special counsel for conflict. Does he not have the right to raise those questions?" he said, shrugging, before quickly changing the subject to a high-speed car chase in Arizona.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have said that attempting to fire Mueller is a red line that the president must not cross.
On social media, Hannity's backtracking garnered attention from journalists and critics.
Viewers of the Sean Hannity Show watched in real-time Thursday night as their host was forced to admit that reports of President Donald Trump's attempt to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller were true, after he'd spent part of the broadcast attacking the New York Times' story.
Later, countless people online witnessed Hannity's coverage as the clip went viral.
Early in the show, Sean Hannity dismissed the Times' report that Trump had ordered the dismissal of Mueller, who stepped in to run the FBI's investigation of the Trump campaign's ties to Russia after the president fired former FBI director James Comey last spring.
"The New York Times is trying to distract you," Hannity told his audience. "They have a story that Trump wanted Mueller fired sometime last June, and our sources, and I've checked in with many of them, they're not confirming that tonight...And how many times has the New York Times and others gotten it wrong?"
He later said that his sources could indeed confirm that the story was true.
Watch:
Although Hannity's tone in his first mention of the story suggested that the Times' report, if true, would be a significant development, he took on a dismissive attitude when acknowledging that the president wanted to fire the official in charge of investigating him.
"Yeah, maybe Donald Trump wanted to fire the special counsel for conflict. Does he not have the right to raise those questions?" he said, shrugging, before quickly changing the subject to a high-speed car chase in Arizona.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have said that attempting to fire Mueller is a red line that the president must not cross.
On social media, Hannity's backtracking garnered attention from journalists and critics.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.