In court on Monday, his name was disclosed as the third âmystery clientâ of Donald Trumpâs personal lawyer Michael Cohen. Though Hannity says he was never actually Cohenâs client, he does appear to have used the legal services of other well-connected Trump-world lawyers in a different matter a year ago.
On May 25, 2017, KFAQ, a radio station based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, received a cease-and-desist letter signed by two lawyers for Hannity: Victoria Toensing and Jay Alan Sekulow. Toensingâs signature sits above her name and that of her husband Joseph E. diGenova, the members of diGenova and Toensing LLP, who are identified as âCounsel for Sean Hannity,â according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Atlantic. Sekulow is also identified in the letter page as a âCounsel for Sean Hannity.â
Sekulow is now the only known personal attorney for President Trump working full-time on the response to Special Counsel Robert Muellerâs inquiry. Sekulow recently announced that diGenova and Toensing had been hired to join him, before reversing course. The letter to the radio station was sent before Sekulow joined Trumpâs team.
The letter was sent in response to accusations against Hannity made by the controversial conservative activist Debbie Schlussel. During an appearance on the Pat Campbell show on KFAQ last April, Schlussel said Hannity had been âcreepyâ towards her and had invited her to his hotel room.
Hannity responded at the time by calling the allegations â100 percent false and a complete fabrication,â and said that he had hired lawyers to plan a response. âThis letter provides notice that Ms. Schlusselâs statements are false and defamatory,â the letter read. âContinued publication will result in further exposure to liability because of continued harm to Mr. Hannityâs impeccable reputation.â
On Monday, Schlussel said she remembered that the radio station where she made the remarks had received a legal letter afterwards, but she didnât know who the lawyer was. Reached by phone on Tuesday, Toensing acknowledged that âat that timeâ she was acting as Hannityâs lawyer but wouldnât comment on whether she still represents him.
âIâve just learned in the press that anybody who is Sean Hannityâs lawyer is going to be blasted so I think this phone call is over,â Toensing said. âIâm wondering what attorney-client privilege means to anybody. I donât say who my clients are, sometimes I do, and many times, most of the time, I do not.â
Sekulow, diGenova, and Toensing have frequently appeared on Hannityâs program; diGenova appeared on the show as recently as Monday night. Asked for comment, Hannity sent a text consisting of NewsBusters and Daily Caller links to stories about ethical misconduct in the mainstream media and declined to offer further comment. âI donât have time for these silly questions,â he said.
Sekulow didnât immediately respond to a request for comment. After publication of this story, a Fox News spokesperson sent an example of Hannity mentioning Sekulow as his lawyer. On May 23, 2017, two days before the letter was sent, he said on his show that Sekulow had âdone legal work for me in the past.â
The addition of Toensing and diGenova to Trumpâs legal team was recently announced, but then swiftly reversed. âThe President is disappointed that conflicts prevent Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing from joining the Presidentâs Special Counsel legal team,â Sekulow said in a statement at the time. âHowever, those conflicts do not prevent them from assisting the President in other legal matters. The President looks forward to working with them.â
When the Cohen news came out, Hannity insisted that Cohen had not really been his lawyer and that he had only asked him for advice regarding real estate. âI never retained his services, I never received an invoice, I never paid Michael Cohen for legal fees,â Hannity said on his show on Monday night. âI did have occasional brief conversations with Michael Cohenâheâs a great attorneyâabout legal questions I had where 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 and to be absolutely clear, they never involved any matter, anyâsorry to disappoint so manyâmatter between me, a third party, a third group, at all.â
On Monday nightâs show, Hannity was criticized by the retired Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, who told him he should have disclosed the relationship to his viewers when discussing Cohen-related matters. âIâm on his show from time to time and I just thought I had an obligation to tell him I think it would have been appropriate for him to disclose that âŚâ Dershowitz told me. âWhen Iâm on the show, I want to be on the show with someone who satisfies journalistic standards, and that would satisfy journalistic standards.â
But itâs unclear whether Fox News, which gives Hannity broad autonomy, cares about these conflicts. Itâs already well-known that Hannity champions the president publicly and advises him privately, although the breadth of his relationships with attorneys linked to the president wasnât known before this week. âI think heâs totally fine,â one Fox source who was not authorized to speak publicly said on Monday. âI take Sean at his word that nothingâs thereâ in the relationship with Cohen, a former Hannity employee who also spoke on the condition of anonymity said, adding that Hannity normally uses David Limbaugh as his lawyer and agent for âabsolutely everything.â
âWhile Fox News was unaware of Sean Hannityâs informal relationship with Michael Cohen and was surprised by the announcement in court yesterday, we have reviewed the matter and spoken to Sean and he continues to have our full support,â the network said in a statement on Tuesday.
âI donât want to get into it because I havenât talked to Sean about whether he wants me to say anything publicly, as a lawyer Iâd better not,â Limbaugh said, but added that he is âproud of my relationship with him.â Limbaugh said he had had nothing to do with anything related to the Schlussel matter.
Read more at The Atlantic