In what was perhaps our craziest story of the day, MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle demanded that a government agency regulate Sean Hannity off the air.
Why?
Because of two recent stories, the first being that Michael Cohen (President Donald Trump’s lawyer) also has Sean Hannity as a client. I’m assuming the “scandal” here is that this poses as a conflict of interest for Hannity in his coverage as if every single person wasn’t aware of Hannity’s political slant, or that he’s a personal friend and supporter of Trump.
Hannity said that he only consulted with Cohen about real estate, and that brings us to the second pointless controversy, that Hannity owns a sizable real estate empire, valued at over $90 million.
In particular, he’s been criticized for his use of shell companies to purchase his properties, mainly by liberals who don’t realize that this is an extremely common practice in real estate to shield oneself for liability purposes. If someone owns 100 real estate properties in one LLC, and one tenant gets injured on a property, he can sue the entire holding company that owns the 100 real estate properties. But if each of the hundred properties is individually owned by separate LLCs, a litigious individual can only sue the LLC that owns the property he was injured in.
Yes, this is really what liberals think is somehow nefarious.
Additionally, one of his properties was purchased with the help of a HUD loan in 2014, which liberals apparently think Hannity was supposed to disclose whenever he interviews Ben Carson on TV.
In responding to this pointless controversy, Hannity issued the following statement:
It is ironic that I am being attacked for investing my personal money in communities that badly need such investment and in which, I am sure, those attacking me have not invested their money. The fact is, these are investments that I do not individually select, control, or know the details about; except that obviously I believe in putting my money to work in communities that otherwise struggle to receive such support.
I have never discussed with anybody at HUD the original loans that were obtained in the Obama years, nor the subsequent refinance of such loans, as they are a private matter. I had no role in, or responsibility for, any HUD involvement in any of these investments. I can say that every rigorous process and strict standard of improvement requirements were followed; all were met, fulfilled and inspected.
The LLC’s are REAL companies that spend real investment money on real properties.
Great, so can this scandal finally be put behind us all?
Knowing how CNN tends to beat stories into the ground for months on end, probably not.
Do you think the media is freaking out over a faux scandal in order to take down Sean Hannity? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
