Fox News host Sean Hannity said last night on his prime time program that he would cease discussing the unsolved murder of former Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, hours after the late staffer’s family made an plea for media personalities to “stop politicizing our son’s murder.”
“There are people who are using our beloved Seth’s memory and legacy for their own political goals, and they are using your outrage to perpetuate our nightmare,” the Rich family wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece that was published Tuesday evening. “We ask those purveying falsehoods to give us peace, and to give law enforcement the time and space to do the investigation they need to solve our son’s murder.”
Rich was shot to death last July in the streets of D.C. The Metropolitan Police Dept. continues to investigate the murder and says there is ample evidence to suggest he was the victim of a botched robbery.
But the Fox News host has devoted a number of segments recently on his radio program and on his Fox News program to an unproven conspiracy theory that the former DNC staffer had been murdered as retaliation for leaking DNC emails to WikiLeaks. Hannity apparently had a change of heart yesterday after his radio program and before his TV program.
Seth Rich’s brother Aaron reportedly spoke with Hannity and his executive producer yesterday evening, asking Hannity to find “decency and kindness in his heart” and stop spreading an unproven conspiracy theory about the unsolved murder. That may have influenced the following pre-show tweets:
When I saw this story after radio & some personal convos I had 2 day, as a father this really tears at my heart. https://t.co/09pUz9bF7C
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 24, 2017
I will address this suffering family tonight at 10. It breaks my heart. Know this, I will pursue the truth wherever it may lead, 4 justice.
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 24, 2017
Hannity did address the matter on the program, and said he would not continue discussing the matter “out of respect for the family’s wishes for now, I am not discussing this matter at this time.”
“My heart, my soul, my prayer goes out to them during this very difficult time,” continued Hannity.
The WikiLeaks retaliation theory has been discredited by many, and yesterday the network took down an inaccurate story published on May 16th on FoxNews.com about the investigation of Rich’s murder – a story that had existed on the website for six days, and one Hannity had been citing frequently on his program.
Fox News issued the following statement yesterday in regard to the article:
“On May 16, a story was posted on the Fox News website on the investigation into the 2016 murder of DNC Staffer Seth Rich. The article was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting. Upon appropriate review, the article was found not to meet those standards and has since been removed. We will continue to investigate this story and will provide updates as warranted.”
Despite yesterday’s tweet regarding the Washington Post story, conversations with the late staffer’s brother, and his statement on last night’s broadcast, Hannity is promising to carry on his work with the network.
Ok TO BE CLEAR, I am closer to the TRUTH than ever. Not only am I not stopping, I am working harder. Updates when available. Stay tuned!
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 24, 2017
Then, this morning:
Not giving up at all. I’m working harder than ever to get to the truth the family wants and deserves. Stay tuned. https://t.co/dVjWT6PZyh
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 24, 2017