Sarah Wasko / Media Matters
After going to the wall for a week on the email hack conspiracy theory about murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, Fox News' Sean Hannity suddenly said Tuesday night that he was going to stop pushing it “for now.”
The hollowness of Hannity’s line was immediately apparent. Minutes after saying that he would stop “out of respect for the family's wishes,” indeed even before his show was over, Hannity returned to the conspiracy theory on Twitter.
Ok TO BE CLEAR, I am closer to the TRUTH than ever. Not only am I not stopping, I am working harder. Updates when available. Stay tuned!
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 24, 2017
Hours later, Hannity retweeted praise from Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, who is furiously fighting extradition from his home in New Zealand to the United States, adding a #Justice4SethRich hashtag.
Omg. Very humbled. #Justice4SethRich https://t.co/4Q3bNoBbte
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 24, 2017
(Earlier yesterday, Dotcom had posted an evidence-free document purporting that Rich was involved in the hacking of DNC emails.)
Hannity then asked his followers to retweet his promise to stay on the story.
Please retweet. https://t.co/IFiaBp9Tn8
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 24, 2017
In the morning, Hannity went on a Twitter tirade against Media Matters.
The “I'm not freaking out” starter pack pic.twitter.com/mc7oCSFdWV
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) May 24, 2017
He also promised again to stay on the Seth Rich story.
Please retweet. https://t.co/IFiaBp9Tn8
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 24, 2017
Meanwhile, Fox News is letting Hannity go wild with no apparent repercussions for pushing the vile conspiracy theory, which has caused great pain for Rich’s family. NBC’s Thomas Roberts reported that one source at Fox News simply said, “Hannity beats to his own drum.”
This statement from someone at Fox comports with previous reporting about Hannity’s status at Fox. Oliver Darcy reported for Business Insider in 2016 that Hannity was “living on an island of his own” at Fox News. Apparently that's so true that he can brazenly boast that he’ll keep entertaining his obsession with a stale 4chan conspiracy even though it undermines Fox’s public statements. The networks' attempts to walk back the Hannity-fueled mess has left his colleagues ashamed to work with him.
This isn’t the first time Hannity has put his own interests ahead of Fox News’. In 2016, Hannity appeared in a Trump campaign ad without permission from his employer. In 2014, Hannity used his Fox News show to promote a paid sponsor of his radio show, which is tantamount to theft in the media business.