7 Conspiracy Theories Pushed By Sean Hannity
The Seth Rich conspiracy theory isn’t the only outlandish story Fox News’ Sean Hannity has pushed in recent years.
Washington Police say Rich was killed by a mugger. Hannity, however, has been pushing the theory Rich, a Democratic National Committee staffer, was slain because he was the person who leaked DNC emails to WikiLeaks. U.S. intelligence concluded Russian-sponsored hackers were responsible for the theft.
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“If it was true that Seth Rich gave WikiLeaks the DNC emails, wouldn’t that blow the whole Russia collusion narrative that the media has been pushing out of the water?” Hannity asked May 18.
Rich’s family appealed to Hannity to stop pushing his theory while Hannity has accused the liberal watchdog Media Matters of trying to silence him. He pledged to continue “speaking the truth.”
He also poked fun at wags predicting his demise.
Fox, however, retracted the Rich story although the network insisted Hannity had its “unequivocal support.”
"Like the rest of the country, Sean Hannity is taking a vacation for Memorial Day weekend and will be back on Tuesday. Those who suggest otherwise are going to look foolish,” a Fox spokesman said in a statement emailed to International Business Times.
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Hannity has been a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, accusing the “deep state” and mainstream press of covering up the truth. He has lost massive numbers of viewers in the wake of Bill O’Reilly’s firing as a result of sexual misconduct allegations, and advertisers have been fleeing.
Hannity is no novice when it comes to conspiracy theories. As early as 1993, he was among the Clinton-bashers who suggested Hillary Clinton’s close friend and White House counsel Vince Foster was murdered although his death was ruled a suicide. Foster was found dead in Fort Marcy Park outside Washington, and the death was investigated by special counsel Kenneth Starr.
Here are five others conspiracy theories Hannity has offered in recent years, compiled by AlterNet:
1. Russia was framed for the DNC hack
Hannity relied on the word of 9/11 truther Army Lt. Col. Anthony Schaffer for proof the CIA used malware to attribute cyberattacks to nations like Russia.
“Sean, we did it. Not me, but our guys, former members of NSA, retired intelligence officers used these tools to break in there and get the information out. That’s what the Democrats don’t want to talk about because it doesn’t fit their narrative,” Shaffer said, admitting he had no proof.
Schaffer is a retired intelligence officer who also claimed former President Barack Obama watched the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in real time, something the White House denied. Newsweek reported in December that Schaffer told friends he was under consideration for a Trump administration intelligence position.
2. Hillary Clinton’s health
Hannity insisted the former secretary of state was seriously ill during the 2016 presidential campaign. His evidence came from pro-Trump Twitter accounts that spread baseless rumors Clinton had suffered traumatic brain injury and had seizures. They also alleged she was hit by a ministroke, Media Matters reported. Hannity additionally suggested she suffered from Parkinson’s disease and persisted despite a report from Clinton’s doctor pronouncing her fit.
The talk show host then proceeded to ignore questions about Republican Donald Trump’s health even after Trump’s doctor admitted he wrote his assessment of Trump’s health in 5 minutes while under duress.
3. The Benghazi attack
Despite a Republican investigation that found no stand-down order was issued to U.S. troops as the attack occurred, Hannity persisted in saying U.S. troops were told not to move in. In reality, there was not enough time for U.S. forces to mount a defense of the consulate from where they were stationed in Italy.
Four Americans died in the September 2012 attack that trashed the consulate, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.
4. State of Obamacare
In October 2013, Hannity invited six people onto his program to talk about how Obamacare had negatively affected them. Hannity called the Affordable Care Act a “train wreck” and asked the six to tell their stories. Salon investigated, however, and found their claims misleading, everything from a businessman saying he actually laid off employees because he wanted to, to a woman admitting she never had actually checked the exchange in her state for affordable coverage and instead sought a pricey individual policy on her own.
5. Voter fraud
Like President Trump, Hannity insists voter fraud is rampant despite studies indicating it’s negligible. Hannity bases his theory on Philadelphia’s preference for Obama over Mitt Romney in 2012.
“In 59 separate precincts in inner city Philadelphia, Mitt Romney did not get a single vote! Not one!” he said last summer.
However, Fact.check.org noted the 59 precincts Hannity cited are in the mainly black inner city. Nationally, Obama received 93 percent of the black vote.
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