I've seen the claim several places, but does anyone have video or a reliable news source confirming Trump adviser Sean Hannity said on-air, online, or on radio that Iran was about to be hit by B52s shortly before an Iranian battery allegedly mistook an airliner for a US warplane?
(I ask because no country, having been told by the leader of a geopolitical foe that it could be bombed at any time, would fail to monitor the communications of a top adviser to that leader who happened to be *on-air* at the time of a potential airstrike. So this *does* matter.)
(Again, I'm asking for sourcing. I'd actually be much happier to learn that this didn't occur. Seriously, I don't want this to have occurred. But there were a number of people on social media saying Hannity had said this *at the time his show was on*. So any help is appreciated.)
VIDEO/ OK, here it is...and...{*sigh*}... JFC—I hate this. It's bad. Bad because he did what folks said, there's no doubt Iran was watching, and based on the Trump-Hannity history of near-daily contact it's possible his source for this fake news was POTUS.
NOTE/ Hannity said *all the things* you'd say if you wanted to make battery captains terrified and trigger-happy. He implied an airstrike was *imminent*. He *often* gets his info from Trump—whose info is *often* false. And U.S. officials now say a battery *shot down an airliner*.
NOTE2/ I'd say about *half the country* was telling conservatives that their bloodlust was dangerous—*not* that Iran was a good actor, but that the bloodlust to destroy and scare Iran was *dangerous*. And Hannity was the spearhead. Anyway, someone needs to check the timeline now.
NOTE3/ If Hannity's source on "B52s" was a *public* source, why can't I find *anyone else* making that claim the night the Ukrainian airliner was hit? Shouldn't media be asking now whether Hannity received and put onair nonpublic info about a military operation he got from Trump?
NOTE4/ Media gets confused about this, so to be clear, I'm saying, 1) there's enough evidence of a story here to 2) ask serious questions of Hannity/Trump on the spread of fear-inducing disinformation on the night 176 innocents were killed. I'm *not* saying we know what happened.
NOTE5/ So, what we *know* (two-part tweet):
1⃣ Hannity's a Trump adviser who talks to Trump near-daily.
2⃣ Trump has a history of giving out nonpublic operational info.
3⃣ Trump's rhetoric on Iran was intended to scare.
4⃣ Hannity falsely said B-52s were soon to strike Iran.
1⃣ Hannity's a Trump adviser who talks to Trump near-daily.
2⃣ Trump has a history of giving out nonpublic operational info.
3⃣ Trump's rhetoric on Iran was intended to scare.
4⃣ Hannity falsely said B-52s were soon to strike Iran.
NOTE6/ (Second tweet of two):
5⃣ Hannity looks to have been on-air around the time officials say an Iranian battery shot down a civilian airliner.
6⃣ Any competent military would've been watching Hannity the night of the possible bombing of Iran due to his Trump adviser status.
5⃣ Hannity looks to have been on-air around the time officials say an Iranian battery shot down a civilian airliner.
6⃣ Any competent military would've been watching Hannity the night of the possible bombing of Iran due to his Trump adviser status.
NOTE7/ While I strongly dislike Hannity, I dislike *no one* enough to *want* them to have negligently (and it would've been *negligence*, not any sort of intent) made it more likely innocents would be killed by an errant battery strike. So I hope this *didn't* happen like this.
NOTE8/ Anyway, I'm out on this one. It's such dark stuff, it makes me feel actually ill. I think there's enough for someone in the media to follow up on this, check the timeline, and so on. This is a conversation that needs to be had, but *no one* should draw any conclusions yet.
NOTE9/ Just some background, because a few people mentioned stories I think everyone needs to go straight to the source on: salon.com/2020/01/08/sea…
NOTE10/ More background, as a few people mentioned stories I think everyone needs to go straight to the source on: mediamatters.org/sean-hannity/s…
ADDENDUM1/ An *enormous* amount of disinformation is now going out about what Hannity did/didn't say in the video on the timing, targeting and tactics of the airstrike. Please *watch the video*. *Don't* trust what folks are saying on it—many are lying. *Watch the video yourself*.
ADDENDUM2/ I did a follow-up four-tweet thread below, to offer a news article and itemize quotes from the Hannity video. Again, I do not want to pursue this story further myself, but I also do *not* want to permit disinformation to spread about this topic.
ADDENDUM3/ I'm haunted by Eric Trump's "whoop-ass" tweet—issued *after* Trump told pals at Mar-a-Lago the stuff below. It seemed Eric was responding to a deployment—but his deletion of the tweet & the context below ups the odds Trump Sr. pumped up Hannity.
thedailybeast.com/trump-told-mar…
thedailybeast.com/trump-told-mar…
