Hannity denies talking to anyone from Ukraine — but he’s hosted lawyers for a Ukrainian oligarch dozens of times

Hannity’s absurd attempt to distance himself from Trump’s Ukraine scandal

Written by John Whitehouse

Published

Fox News host Sean Hannity denies any connections to Ukraine — but he’s repeatedly hosted lawyers for a Ukrainian oligarch.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified before the House Intelligence Committee that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo or one of his aides called Hannity to find out if there was any truth to smears being spread about her on his show.

On his Fox News show Tuesday, Hannity defended himself, claiming he’s never spoken to anyone from Ukraine.

This excuse is transparently absurd. Hannity has repeatedly hosted Joseph diGenova and Victoria Toensing, lawyers for Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash.

According to a Media Matters database, diGenova has appeared on Hannity’s show at least 37 times in 2018 and 2019. His partner Toensing has appeared on Hannity’s show at least 20 times during the same period.

Additionally, Hannity has hosted conservative writer John Solomon over 100 times in 2018 and 2019. Solomon, now a Fox News contributor, is also a client of Toensing and diGenova, and he coordinated with personal Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani to inject his Ukraine disinformation into the media.

Juxtaposing video of Hannity and diGenova on Hannity’s show — where diGenova explicitly calls for Yovanovitch to be recalled — makes the farce evident.