Fox News host Sean Hannity lashed out after a second impeachment witness claimed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called him about the U.S. envoy to Ukraine.
A newly released transcript shows David Hale, undersecretary of state for political affairs, testified he “understood” that Pompeo phoned Hannity to ask if he had any evidence to support allegations made about former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.
“How many times do I have to say: We barely mentioned this woman,” Hannity exclaimed, raising his voice as he spoke to his guest, Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett, on Monday. “Four times in passing.”
Turning his gaze to the camera, Hannity continued, “No, I never got a call from Secretary of State Pompeo or anybody else. Why would they lie about this?”
The “smear campaign,” as Hale described it, pegged Yovanovitch as being disloyal to President Trump and undermining his foreign policy agenda in Ukraine. She was recalled in May.
Yovanovitch testified in a closed-door deposition last month how she believed Pompeo or “somebody around him” reached out to Hannity on allegations that she was undermining Trump. After that transcript was released, Hannity claimed it was “fake news.” Another top State Department official, George Kent, testified that to the best of his recollection it was his agency’s counsel, Ulrich Brechbuhl, who reached out to Hannity about the allegations, prompting yet another denial from the Fox News personality.
In her open testimony last week, Yovanovitch said she was the victim of “a campaign of disinformation” using “unofficial back channels” that involved Ukrainians opposed to her anti-corruption efforts and Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
