The bad news keeps piling on for Fox News host Sean Hannity. Most recently, news about Hannity’s real estate investments made headlines because he allegedly failed to disclose them despite having the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary on his show.
The embattled host supposedly received support from HUD when he used shell companies to purchase discounted and foreclosed properties as a means of investment, which, of course, caused plenty of uproar among his detractors. Hannity defended himself via a statement on Monday, the Huffington Post reported.
He said the reason he chose not to disclose his involvement in the “personal” investments is that he didn’t select or know the details about these investments. Reportedly, while he publically ridiculed Obama for failing to take action on the U.S. housing crisis, he privately took advantage of Obama-era policies to buy up over 870 homes throughout seven states worth about $90 million.
The properties he invested in include high-end mansions and low-income family rentals. According to Hannity, his investments are in areas that badly needed investments like his.
The Guardian revealed Hannity’s real estate investments on Sunday in a piece investigating the bombshell news of his connection with President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen — another connection, which the talk show host failed to disclose to viewers.
Last year, Dr. Ben Carson appeared on Hannity’s Fox News show to discuss HUD, and the host praised him while seemingly failing to disclose to viewers that his loan portfolio’s value may have increased by $5 million when Trump took over at the White House and appointed Carson as HUD secretary. At the very least, this presents an incredibly gray ethical area for a journalist.
Of course, Hannity views himself not as a journalist but more as a news entertainer or radio and TV talk show host. Unfortunately, many of his viewers may not see him that way. They potentially look to him for news and tend to believe everything he says, especially since he appears on a news station they apparently trust.
So far, neither HUD nor Fox News commented on these new details about Hannity and his apparent ethical issues.
