The internet exploded Monday afternoon after Sean Hannity was revealed as Michael Cohen’s third “mysterious” client.
Hannity was on the radio as the news broke and addressed the situation rather quickly. He said he’s known Cohen for years, and he never represented him in any sort of “official” capacity. He handed him $10 and had occasional discussions with him, but it never went beyond that. He also said his questions never involved a third party.
He also addressed it briefly on Twitter:
Michael Cohen has never represented me in any matter. I never retained him, received an invoice, or paid legal fees. I have occasionally had brief discussions with him about legal questions about which I wanted his input and perspective.
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) April 16, 2018
I assumed those conversations were confidential, but to be absolutely clear they never involved any matter between me and a third-party.
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) April 16, 2018
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
Of course, this also came up on his show. He had an interesting exchange with Alan Dershowitz. Dershowitz told Hannity he should’ve disclosed his relationship with Cohen, as insignificant as that relationship may have been.
“First of all, Sean, I want to say that I really think that you should have disclosed your relationship with Cohen when you talked about him on this show,” Dershowitz said. “You could have said that you had asked him for advice or whatever. But I think it would have been much, much better had you disclosed that relationship.”
“It was minimal,” Hannity said.
Alan Dershowitz (!) says that Hannity should have disclosed that he was a client of Cohen before discussing the FBI raid last week.
Hannity responds: “I have the right to privacy.” pic.twitter.com/lheMdQWqHl
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) April 17, 2018
I get what they’re both saying. I believe he probably should’ve mentioned it. It would’ve reduced the drama. On second thought, it probably wouldn’t have. Do you SEE the world we’re living in?
“I understand that, and you should’ve said that,” Dershowitz said.
He was very fair and added, “You were in a tough position because, A, you had to talk about Cohen, and, B, you didn’t want the fact hat you had spoken with him to be revealed.”
“I have the right to privacy,” Hannity said. “It was such a minor relationship.”
“You should have said that,” Dershowitz said.
At the end of the show, Hannity made a final explanation.
“Let me set the record straight,” Hannity said. “Here’s the truth. Michael Cohen never represented me represented me in any legal manner. I never retained his services. I never received an invoice. I never paid Michael Cohen for legal fees. I did have occasional brief conversations with Michael Cohen. He is a great attorney, about legal questions I had. Or I was looking for input and perspective. My discussions with Michael Cohen never rose to any level that I needed to tell anyone that I was asking him questions. To be absolutely clear, they never involved any matter with a third party.”
What do you think? Do you wish Hannity disclosed this relationship from the beginning? I think he probably should have. As insignificant as it may be, it looks bad, and that’s all MSM needs these days.