, 41 tweets, 5 min read Read on Twitter
Hannity is DANGEROUS—he pretends to be in media while acting as a Trump adviser and surrogate. RETWEET if you agree. salon.com/2017/10/15/stu…
2/ I don't care about Hannity's opinions—he can believe what he likes. But pretending to be in the media while advising Trump is VERY wrong.
3/ Fox News should've made it clear to Hannity LONG ago: you can be in the media OR you can be a top Trump adviser and surrogate. NOT both.
4/ There's a reason Hannity refused comment when media asked him over the last few days to confirm he's a top Trump adviser: it's UNETHICAL.
5/ Here's WHY it's unethical: the DEFINITION of "state TV" (like North Korea has) is when the "media" actually works with and for the State.
6/ If Fox News were a media organization—and it no longer is—it would've fired Hannity the MOMENT it learned he was a REGULAR Trump adviser.
7/ It's fine for a POTUS to call someone in media and be friendly with them. But Sean Hannity is a TOP—and REGULAR—Trump adviser on POLICY.
8/ As Trump cultivates more relationships like this—say, with Jeanine Pirro—he begins creates a de facto state media that operates secretly.
9/ As SALON notes, Trump just made his SEVENTIETH—70th!—appearance on "Hannity" since announcing his candidacy. Hannity IS Trump's state TV.
10/ If Hannity DIDN'T think he was lying about his ethics and his conflicts of interest, he would've answered queries about advising Trump.
11/ Hannity is a Trump "agent"—in the legal sense. Trump uses him to pass legal disinformation and threaten both prosecutions and witnesses.
12/ Hannity has ALREADY been caught passing provably false information about the DNC hack in order to benefit a politician he was advising.
13/ The reason to call Hannity "dangerous" is that Trump could seek to build—maybe already has—identical relationships with others in media.
14/ Who else does Trump have an in-kind quid pro quo with? Granting interviews—which means advertising money—in exchange for advice/support?
15/ If news outlets DON'T fire "journalists" who offer policy advice to politicians in exchange for access/ad revenue, where does that lead?
16/ Hannity is "Exhibit A" of where it leads: as SALON showed, Hannity uses his air-time to threaten Russia probe witnesses and prosecutors.
17/ IF Trump has an access-for-advice deal with Hannity—and Hannity threatens witnesses—shouldn't Mueller interview Hannity on Obstruction?
18/ Given that the Russia probe is Hannity's political focus—and Hannity ADVISES TRUMP ON POLICY—shouldn't Mueller be interviewing Hannity?
19/ Is Hannity discussing a probe he KNOWS he's a potential witness in? Is he threatening prosecutors or witnesses in a case he's a part of?
20/ Is there any OTHER top Trump adviser who goes on TV nightly to call Mueller and Comey criminals and spread psyops about the FBI's probe?
21/ Fox News has been in the news REPEATEDLY for the legal misconduct of its "talent." How has Hannity ESCAPED that conversation, precisely?
22/ Propaganda is legal—but pretending to be in the media while working for Trump? A probe witness, intimidating witnesses? Much less clear.
23/ IF Hannity has an access-for-advice deal, that COULD be fraud—as to advertisers and/or cable subscribers. Then—the witness intimidation.
24/ What would the Right do if it found out Brian Williams was secretly a top adviser for Clinton? (What did it do when he told MINOR lies?)
25/ Just reverse the names and political allegiances and you'll have NO problem imagining the full scope of the Trump-Hannity scandal. {end}
PS/ Regarding Tweet #20 in this thread: I meant any other Trump adviser who poses as INDEPENDENT MEDIA while doing the things I mentioned.
PS2/ We can't let Hannity off the hook by saying he's a shill or that his relationship with Trump is clear. It's not—he HIDES his advising.
PS3/ Hannity can have secret dinners and phone calls with Trump if he's GETTING information from POTUS. ADVISING him? A different situation.
PS4/ Doubt the media analysis here? Check in with media ethics experts to see if *they* agree this sort of relationship is deeply unethical.
PS5/ Doubt the legal analysis here? Ask other lawyers about persons connected to federal probes seeking to intimidate other probe witnesses.
PS6/ Doubt the advertising analysis? Do cable subscribers to—or advertisers on—Fox News think they're paying for Trump administration staff?
PS7/ Doubt the historical analysis? Find a scenario analogous to this in recent American political OR journalistic history—Left OR Right.
PS8/ We've normalized *so much* in America under Trump's regime that we've actually gone ahead—as a nation—and normalized STATE TV. Amazing.
PS9/ Even SALON—so clearly trying to cut Hannity off at the knees—erroneously referred to him as a "Fox host" rather than a "Trump adviser."
PS10/ Indeed, isn't it now INCUMBENT upon all news outlets to determine if Hannity IS a Trump adviser, so in reports they can call him that?
SOURCE5/ "Hannity made clear in a call [with Trump]...Trump must draw a harder line on immigration enforcement." pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/…
NOTE: Hannity HAS called himself a journalist—often—and describing his roles has NEVER admitted to being an adviser. mediamatters.org/video/2017/08/…
Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to Seth Abramson
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member and get exclusive features!

Premium member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year)

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!