When news broke in open court that Sean Hannity was the secret third client of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen, many raised concerns over his ethics because he had not disclosed the professional relationship.
Hannity responded by claiming he had a right to privacy. But even Trump-defending frequent Fox News guest Alan Dershowitz scolded Hannity on his own show for the infraction.
Now, as The Guardian has uncovered, Sean Hannity is the owner of almost 900 homes worth $90 million. These were all purchased through shell corporations that hid his empire. And they were financed through the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Many are in low-income neighborhoods, prompting epode on social media to call Hannity a “slumlord.”
The popular far right wing Fox News host has never mentioned any of these financial dealings on-air, despite interviewing HUD Secretary Ben Carson, nor when he’s covered stories about HUD.
The journalistic ethics issues are troubling, and Fox News has to know this.
Perhaps that’s why Fox News is now acting as Hannity’s PR agent.
Fox News Media Relations Senior Manager sent NCRM an email in response to an article we published on the Hannity housing fiasco. She asks us to amend the piece with Hannity’s statement “in full.” While we’re under no obligation to, and will not, we will offer readers the statement, as sent via Fox News:
It is ironic that I am being attacked for investing my personal money in communities that badly need such investment and in which, I am sure, those attacking me have not invested their money. The fact is, these are investments that I do not individually select, control, or know the details about; except that obviously I believe in putting my money to work in communities that otherwise struggle to receive such support.
I have never discussed with anybody at HUD the original loans that were obtained in the Obama years, nor the subsequent refinance of such loans, as they are a private matter. I had no role in, or responsibility for, any HUD involvement in any of these investments. I can say that every rigorous process and strict standard of improvement requirements were followed; all were met, fulfilled and inspected.
The LLC’s are REAL companies that spend real investment money on real properties.
Insisting the details are “a private matter,” Hannity would like you to believe he is a hero concerned about low-income Americans.
We’ll let his reputation speak for itself.
Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license