HANNITY!

With the revelation that Michael Cohen's third client is Sean Hannity, it is amazing to see the media dance around the unspoken possibility that Trump is actually blackmailing Hannity for his positive coverage.

Most of the discussion focuses on the fact that Hannity has clearly breached journalistic ethics by not disclosing he had Cohen as a lawyer when discussing the Cohen raids and their aftermath. Journalistic integrity from Hannity - that's a laugh! It highlights one of the underreported stories in the mainstream media about Hannity and other Fox News shows, namely that is that is not considered part of the news division. Fox classifies Hannity as commentary/entertainment - pure and simple. Hannity himself openly declares he is not a journalist, calling himself a "talk show host" instead.  So, it is ridiculous for other news outlets to be shocked that he has breached journalistic ethics - he never had them.

But the elephant in the room is whether Trump, via Cohen, is blackmailing Hannity into providing his over-the-top support for Trump. The obvious assumption is that Cohen is providing the same kind of services that he did for Trump and Elliot Brody, silencing women who have been abused, harassed, or had affairs with his clients. And, based on Trump's proclivity to negotiate by extortion, does anyone doubt that Trump would be pressuring Hannity for the positive coverage he gets.

The current meme is that Fox News drives Trump focus and policy. But it now seems like it is quite possible that Trump directs Fox News coverage and then amplifies it for his own benefit. Fox is clearly a propaganda outfit. The question now is who is directing the propaganda.