Right-wing talk show host Sean Hannity is now defending himself from critics, after he tried to defend Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, who allegedly initiated sexual conduct with a 14-year-old girl while he was in his 30s, and tried to begin relationships with other teens.
On Thursday afternoon, the radio and Fox News host opened the door to the possibility that the allegations were part of a plot against Moore.
Okay, so now you've got the swamp, you've got the sewer, you've got the establishment — they hate Roy Moore. Roy Moore, to them, is another Ted Cruz, another Mike Lee, somebody they can't control, Rand Paul, they can't control those guys. The last thing they need is another one of them, that actually believes in the promises they make, et cetera.
There are false allegations made. You know, I can tell you another thing that is a common practice, people make a allegation at, for example, big corporations. Big corporations, they make a business decision, "Alright, if I pay $200,000, this goes away, okay, you're out of here, we're done with you, it's all over," even though they don't believe it happened.
On Thursday night, Hannity continued his quasi-defense of Moore, whom he promoted many times on his show. Though Hannity said that the allegations from the 14-year-old should disqualify him from his campaign, "if true," Hannity spent much of his show's opening segment reading Roy Moore's full responses before going on a grand tour of distraction: Richard Jewell, the Duke Lacrosse case, President Barack Obama's "rushes to judgement," Bill Clinton's accusers, the Clinton Foundation, "Hollywood sex scandals" and Republicans who called for Moore to step aside.
"Every person in this country deserves the presumption of innocence until proven guilty," Hannity said, referring to Moore and not anyone in the Clinton camp.
Later in the episode, Hannity opened the possibility that the allegations were lies "to make money."
More from Fox Pundit: Almost all women who claim they are sexually assaulted are liars. Women actually assaulted are "few and far between" http://pic.twitter.com/Y1toIfIP0q
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) November 10, 2017
But Hannity pivoted from defending Moore to attacking the media, whom he said took him out of context during his radio show. Hannity said that Moore's relationships with girls aged 16, 17 and 18 — who were of the age of consent at the time, according to the Post — were not illegal because they were "consensual." But because there was crosstalk, it sounded like Hannity was defending Moore's conduct with a 14-year-old.
HANNITY: How do you possibly tell, know the truth, except -- okay, so, the two other girls were older in this case. He was apparently, like, 32, and he dated -- one girl was 18, one girl was 17, they never said he did -- there was no sexual -- there was kissing involved, and then they're saying this one encounter with a 14 year old --
CO-HOST LYNDA MCLAUGHLIN: And it was consensual --
HANNITY: And consensual, that's true. And there's, you know -- I just -- I don't know how you find out the truth.
On Twitter, Hannity pounced on anyone who may have taken him out of context to distract from any criticism of his Moore defense.
"As I said on TV tonight, I apologize when I misspoke and was not totally clear earlier today. It’s really sad when the lazy media....
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) November 10, 2017
in this country cuts and pastes a deceptive and out of context comment by a Soros funded radical left-wing group that has purposefully...
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) November 10, 2017
taken me out of context for years. My comments on the topic of Judge Moore were clear and unambiguous both on radio and on TV,
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) November 10, 2017
if people would do their own research and reporting. People need to listen to the totality of my remarks if they care about the truth.
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) November 10, 2017
Related Stories
- 4 Appalling Facts About Fox News' Latest Hire, Sebastian Gorka
- How Much Longer Can Fox News Afford to Keep Sean Hannity Around?
- Report: Sean Hannity's Attacks on the Press Are Concerning Colleague Chris Wallace
from AlterNet.org Main RSS Feed http://ift.tt/2yNSYbT
News Today: Sean Hannity's Heinous Defense of Roy Moore Is in a Class of Its Own
0 komentar:
Post a Comment