Last night, in one of his most despicable attacks yet, Hannity trotted out two discredited authors, neither of whom have any medical expertise, to Swift Boat Hillary Clinton's health. But they have the most important credit Hannity cares about: they hate Clinton and seem willing to say anything to smear and discredit her.
Unable to win on experience, policy, judgment or temperament, it seems Fox News is doing its part for Donald Trump by Swift Boating Hillary Clinton over her health. And just like with the 2004 Swift Boat liars for Bush, truth and ethics take a distant backseat.
In this Hannity segment, former Secret Service agent Gary Byrne was up first. You may recall that Byrne previously captivated Hannity (and Fox and Trump) with an anti-Clinton book that was discredited by Byrne’s own peers.
But Byrne wrote an op-ed smear about Clinton’s health, saying, “Here’s why her fainting video really scares me." And in a moment of GOP media synergy, that got him a prime time perch on Fox again. Even though Byrne admitted he was “not a medical expert, as you know.”
That didn’t stop Hannity from doing his best to have viewers take Byrnes’ amateur, completely uneducated and uninformed opinions seriously because, as Byrne told us, he’s an “expert on observation” and on “Secret Service procedures.”
“Clearly, her body is stiff,” Byrne said about Clinton. He was diagnosing her via video of her leaving the recent 9/11 anniversary ceremony early and stumbling into her van. “Her head keeps raising further and further back,” Byrne added. He went on to claim that Clinton could not get into the van without the help of a Secret Service agent. “This disturbs me greatly,” Byrne pronounced gravely.
“You’re saying there’s something seriously wrong with her,” Hannity said eagerly. He cited a former White House doctor who wrote about Clinton campaigning with a blood clot that she had kept secret as more "evidence" of a coverup. But what Hannity “forgot” to mention is that Clinton was first lady at the time, campaigning for her husband, so her health decisions were nobody's business but her own. Also, her determination to soldier on, despite the risk, showed more grit than conspiracy.
But Byrne went on to declare, “I don’t believe a thing” on Clinton’s just-released medical records. Because Benghazi and Monica Lewinski. Really.
Next up, discredited Hillary-hater Ed Klein. Who has been seen lunching with Donald Trump and his campaign officials this election cycle.
“I don’t believe anything that their doctor is putting out,” Hannity announced, to prime the Klein pump.
Klein dubiously claimed that “friends and associates” have told him, “When they visit Chappaqua, where the Clintons live, Hillary frequently faints or swoons.” He also claimed that her aide, Huma Abedin brings her cold compresses “all the time.”
This is “just the tip of the iceberg of something that’s been going on for a long time,” Klein claimed.
Hannity piled on. He added a few of his own Hillary Health chestnuts. Then, without a trace of irony, he attacked the media for not covering Clinton the way he sees fit.. “The problem here is, you know, the media’s so dishonest and so corrupt and so in the tank for her that they advance the phony narrative.”
Well, if anyone should know about dishonest, corrupt, in-the-tank media, it’s Sean Hannity.
And it’s not just Hannity. Fox News’ Insider blog highlighted the segment, with the title, “Ed Klein on Video of Hillary Collapsing: ‘Just the Tip of the Iceberg’”
Watch this sickening segment below, from the September 14, 2016 Hannity show.
Many, many people are telling me that Doberman Pinschers are also tremendous at observation. But I wouldn’t want one treating my pneumonia.
Cruising Hannocchio was a piece of work at the Atlanta radio station. A shrewd Long Island street rat who would do anything to beat the competition.
Elections have been nasty before but combine the right-wing Clinton hate machine with an insult bot like Trump and we’re redefining “nasty”!
Byrne’s crapfest spews out dozens of unfounded and unsubstantiated smears of Hillary. Not a footnote in the entire mess. His lack of personal knowledge about Hillary is only exceeded by his complete lack of knowledge about her medical condition. None of that matters a hoot to Lumpy KKKlannity.