It’s been a rough start to the week for Sean Hannity.
On Monday afternoon, the Fox News pundit was outed as the mystery third client of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney and longtime fixer currently under investigation for a range of possible crimes.
Hannity then had to try and figure out how to address the bombshell revelation while he was meant to be doing his radio show — which played 10 minutes of music and James Comey’s ABC interview before Hannity finally showed up and said he was working to decide whether to address the news.
Around two hours later, Hannity decided to pull the “we’re just friends” routine. He told a Wall Street Journal reporter that he and Cohen “have been friends for a long time. I have sought legal advice for Michael.” He then took to Twitter to claim that he had “no personal interest” in Cohen’s proceeding and that his discussions with the lawyer had mostly involved “real estate.”
In response to some wild speculation, let me make clear that I did not ask Michael Cohen to bring this proceeding on my behalf, I have no personal interest in this proceeding, and, in fact, asked that my de minimis discussions with Michael Cohen,
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) April 16, 2018
which dealt almost exclusively about real estate, not be made a part of this proceeding.
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) April 16, 2018
But a letter to the court, Cohen’s lawyers painted a very different version of events. “The other legal client indicated that they did not authorize their name to be publicly filed in connection with this matter,” the document reads. “[They] directed Mr. Cohen to appeal any order to disclose their name.”
So on one hand, Hannity is saying that he has no interest in the case, that his relationship with Cohen is casual, and that he doesn’t need to be involved in the ongoing legal proceedings. But then at the same time, Cohen’s lawyers are aggressively trying to keep the relationship between the two quiet — which begs the question why if, as Hannity said, “Michael Cohen never represented me in any matter.”
To make matters worse, Hannity had been previously doing his utmost to defend Cohen and criticize the FBI’s decision to raid the lawyer’s home and offices last week — all without disclosing that Cohen was his lawyer.
Hannity described the raid as a “fishing expedition” and a “war on the president.” He even said the raid should be an excuse for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — who is overseeing the Mueller investigation and could, under certain circumstances, fire the special counsel.
“Professor Dershowitz, you have said that the raid on Michael Cohen’s hotel room, his home and his office was a violation of his constitutional rights,” Hannity began during an interview segment with Alan Dershowitz and Joe DiGenova last Wednesday. “Do you agree with Joe that it’s the attorney general’s job to now step in and fire Rod Rosenstein?”
Cohen himself appeared on Hannity’s show in early 2017, where he said that “the levels of disrespect towards the president… makes us look weak and it makes us look disorganized and chaotic.”
Irony, thy name is Michael Cohen.
