In his article, “Hillary Clinton torpedoes Hannity: ‘There was no real time video” , Washington Post media writer Erik Wemple notes at least eight instances (and there are probably many more) where Sean Hannity said that the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was watched in “real time” by State Department officials. As usual it was proven to be the type of partisan BS that Fox News and Sean Hannity dish out on a daily basis. Indeed, Fox News poster boy Hannity was made to look like a partisan fool when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on January 23 that "there was no monitor, there was no real time."
Hannity has been spewing this falsehood for months following the attack. A sampling from the Nov. 16 edition of “Hannity,” featuring guests Rep. Mike Conaway and Oliver North:
HANNITY: And if the State Department is now saying they never believed that this attack on the 11th of September against the U.S. consulate was a film protest gone awry, think about it — then, it’s nearly impossible to believe that President Obama didn’t know. Oh, and did I mention the State Department was watching this unfold in Real Time?
This shouldn't surprise anyone. This is the typical modes operandi from Fox News. The well-funded right-wing media outlet has long demonstrated an ability to deflate or inflate scandals depending on their political impact. They are totally unconcerned with the truth as long as the narrative fits their right-wing ideological agenda. They thought they hit it out of the park with Benghazigate and Sean Hannity would bring it home for them, making it look like some insidious coverup by an inept President and Secretary of State.
Fortunately most Americans are not that naive. Most thinking Americans would rather know why Sean Hannity hasn’t asked House Republicans why for the past four years THEY have blocked funding to the State Department for increased security? Afterall, it's the job of the people hired by the State Department to manage security, but you can’t hire more people if there is no money allocated. The Republicans stripped $350 million last year and $176 million the year before, more than half a billion dollars from the Sate Department's Embassy security funds.
But instead of getting to the facts, Sean Hannity wants to play this game of “gotcha“. During President Obama's first term, it was one conspiracy after another -Fast and Furious (which actually began under the Bush administration as Operation Wide Receiver), truthers and birthers, Obama is a Muslim/Commie – and now Benghazi-gate - hoping for another Watergate. The only thing that makes Benghazi-gate more despicable then past witch hunts is that they would use four dead American heroes to play this partisan game. Make no mistake about it, that's what it‘s about. Otherwise, this writer would pose this question to Sean Hannity and the Republicans - did you call for an investigation into each of these embassy incidents with the same vigor:
June 14, 2002, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
Suicide bomber kills 12 and injures 51.
February 20, 2003, international diplomatic compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Truck bomb kills 17.
February 28, 2003, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
Gunmen on motorcycles killed two consulate guards.
July 30, 2004, U.S. embassy in Taskkent, Uzbekistan
Suicide bomber kills two.
December 6, 2004, U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Militants stormed and occupied perimeter wall. Five killed, 10 wounded.
March 2, 2006, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
Suicide car bomber killed four, including a U.S. diplomate directly targeted by the assailants.
September 12, 2006, U.S. embassy in Damascus, Syria
Gunmen attacked embassy with grenades, automatic weapons, and a car bomb (though second truck bomb failed to detonate). One killed and 13 wounded.
January 12, 2007, U.S. embassy in Athens, Greece
A rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the embassy building. No one was injured.
July 9, 2008, U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey
Armed men attacked consulate with pistols and shotguns. Three policemen killed.
March 18, 2008, U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen.
Mortar attack misses embassy, hits nearby girls' school instead.
September 17, 2008, U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen
Militants dressed as policemen attacked the embassy with RPGs, rifles, grenades and car bombs. Six Yemeni soldiers and seven civilians were killed. Sixteen more were injured.
Congressional Republicans and their cohorts on Fox News have tried to make a political issue of the Benghazi attack from the very beginning. At a minimum Fox News owes Secretary of State Hillary Clinton an apology. But don't expect one because if Fox News had any integrity as a news organization at all, they would have gotten rid of Sean Hannity a long time ago.
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