Sean Hannity is not likely to face much blowback from Fox News over his failure to disclose his relationship with President Trump's personal lawyer, said Michael Calderone, Politico's senior media reporter.
"He pretty much plays by his own rules at Fox," said Calderone in an interview Wednesday on Cheddar. "He's their top rated host, he's been there for decades, and he seems to get away with whatever he wants."
Hannity spends much of his 9 p.m. nightly show on Fox News defending Trump, railing against the special counsel's Russia investigation, and slamming the FBI for raiding the office and home of Michael Cohen, Trump's personal lawyer. Then came the [revelation](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/business/media/sean-hannity-michael-cohen-client.html) Monday that Hannity himself had sought legal advice from Cohen.
Though Hannity did not disclose his relationship with Cohen, the Fox host "seems to get away with whatever he wants," said Calderone.
The Politico reporter said he spoke with Hannity last year, during an advertiser boycott of Hannity's show when the TV host was aggressively pushing a conspiracy theory about the killing of a Democratic National Committee staffer, Seth Rich.
"Throughout all of that Sean Hannity was defiant," said Calderone. "He called me up and said 'I can say whatever I want, at Fox News, everyone there leaves me alone.'"
Hannity has acknowledged he asked Cohen for legal advice, but said he isn't a client since there was never a third party involved, and he never received a bill.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/sean-hannity-in-hot-water).
Ukrainians defied pressure from Moscow with a national show of flag-waving unity Wednesday, while the West warned that it saw no sign of a promised pullback of Russian troops.
The families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School have agreed to a $73 million settlement of a lawsuit against the maker of the rifle used to kill 20 first-graders and six educators in 2012.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says that he welcomes a security dialogue with the West as his military reported pulling back some of its troops near Ukraine.
The megadrought bedeviling the American West got even drier last year and is becoming the deepest dry spell in more than 1,200 years.
As we celebrate Black History Month, Cheddar is highlighting prominent Black Americans who are carving their own historic paths and trailblazing in their fields. Today we feature poet and activist Amanda Gorman.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked emergency powers Monday to quell the protests by truck drivers and others who have paralyzed Ottawa and blocked border crossings in anger over the country’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Families and gun control advocates are pressing President Joe Biden to do more to address gun violence.
The Biden administration on Friday escalated its dire warnings about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying it could take place within days, even as diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis continued.
Two Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee say the CIA has a secret, undisclosed data repository that includes information collected about Americans.
As we celebrate Black History Month, Cheddar is highlighting prominent Black Americans who are carving their own historic paths and trailblazing in their fields. Today we feature New York Attorney General Letitia James.
