Fox News host Sean Hannity claims he has “multiple confirmations” of the Ukraine whistleblower’s identity.
Hannity, a vocal Trump supporter, made the boast on his show Monday evening as he was interviewing Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. He also suggested the whistleblower’s legal team has threatened him not to name the person.
“I actually have multiple confirmations of who the whistleblower is. But you know what? I’ll play the game for a little bit, and I’ll take the lawyer’s threats that they’re going to sue me,” Hannity said.
“It wouldn’t go anywhere,” he added.
The Washington Examiner asked the whistleblower’s attorneys on Tuesday if they have been in contact with Hannity’s team and whether they have threatened to sue.
“We have never been in contact with Hannity or his staff. Nor have we ever threatened him,” Mark Zaid, who leads the whistleblower’s team, said in response. “The only times I’ve interacted with Hannity were when I was a guest on his show.”
Representatives for Fox News did not immediately return a request for comment on whether the whistleblower’s legal team has been in contact with the network to warn off identifying the whistleblower.
The whistleblower, whom the Washington Examiner has reported, is a CIA analyst, was detailed to the National Security Council, and filed a complaint in August about President Trump pressuring Ukraine to conduct investigations that would be politically advantageous to him. The revelation of this complaint sparked concerns about potential abuse of power and led to impeachment proceedings in the Democrat-controlled House.
As speculation about who the whistleblower may be has escalated in recent weeks, Trump and his Republican allies are calling for the person to be identified and were dismissive of the offer over the weekend by the whistleblower’s legal team to answer their questions in a written format.
In a blanket statement in response to the speculation, the whistleblower’s attorneys said their client is “legally entitled to anonymity” and indicated that legal action would be taken on any such disclosure that leads to harm to their client or the client’s family.
“Disclosure of the name of any person who may be suspected to be the whistleblower places that individual and their family in great physical danger. Any physical harm the individual and/or their family suffers as a result of disclosure means that the individuals and publications reporting such names will be personally liable for that harm. Such behavior is at the pinnacle of irresponsibility and is intentionally reckless,” they wrote in the Oct. 31 statement.
