Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz, a Fox News contributor who regularly defends President Donald Trump, on Monday night confronted Fox host Sean Hannity over his relationship with Michael Cohen.
During a conversation on former FBI Director James Comey and the Russia probe, Dershowitz brought up the revelation that Trump’s longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen named Hannity as a client and told Hannity that he should have told viewers about that relationship.
“I really think that you should have disclosed your relationship with Cohen when you talked about him on this show,” Dershowitz told Hannity. “You could’ve said just that you asked him for advice or whatever, but I think it would’ve been much, much better had you disclosed that relationship.”
Hannity told Dershowitz that his interaction with Cohen was “minimal.”
“That would’ve been fair to say, that it was minimal,” Dershowitz said. “You were in a tough position because A: You had to talk about Cohen and B: You didn’t want the fact that you had spoken with him to be revealed. And you had the right, by the way, not to have your identity be revealed.”
“I have a right to privacy,” Hannity said in response.
“But, you know, it’s a complex situation when you’re speaking to millions of people…” Dershowitz began to reply before Hannity interjected and said he had only a “minor relationship” with Cohen.
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
At the end of his show Monday night, Hannity lamented the “wild speculation” from the “mainstream media” about his interactions with Cohen before playing a lengthy montage of cable news hosts and reporters saying Hannity’s name. He then echoed his statement from earlier in the day, telling Fox News viewers that he had “occasional brief conversations” with Cohen about legal questions, mostly involving real estate.
Hannity lamented the “wild speculation” from the “mainstream media”
LOL.
These recordings are going to be awesome. I hope Sean didn’t know he was being taped.
there is a BIGGER story here. Hannity directely contradicted Cohen’s lawyers last night.
Hannity, last night .“I never asked Michael Cohen to bring this proceeding on my behalf”
Steve Ryan (Cohen’s lawyer) in court yesterday:
“The client was contacted over the weekend, and asked that we not disclose their name. And further, that we take an appeal if the Court was going to make that name public.”
The judge is NOT going to be happy about this…
(sources Hannity at 2:16 in video at http://video.foxnews.com/v/5771603172001/?playlist_id=930909813001#sp=show-clips
Ryan at 12:11 in Maddow A-block video at http://video.foxnews.com/v/5771603172001/?playlist_id=930909813001#sp=show-clips
BUSTED! Even by the Trumper Douche-owitz!
The reason the adage that “the coverup is worse than the crime” is a thing is because concealment is instinctively recognized as awareness of culpability. He knew if he said there was a legal relationship between him and Cohen, even as a FalseNews host it would have at least slightly undermined his credibility as a sycophantic toady. So at least that, but Cohen isn’t a guy with a real practice, nor is he a guy you go to for aboveboard legal advice, whether it’s girlfriend trouble or–gods forbid–“real estate.”