Ed Schultz Promotes Anti-Hannity Freedom Concert Smear, Even Though It's Been Discredited

March 31st, 2010 4:05 PM

Ed Schultz rehashed an already-discredited smear of conservative talk show host Sean Hannity on the liberal talker's March 30 "Ed Show" program on MSNBC.

Blustered Schultz as he introduced Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW):

Finally tonight on "The Ed Show," it's been 12 days since Sean Hannity hasn't answered the questions about possible fraud and misuse of funds from his charity. He may have to answer to the IRS and Federal Trade Commission.

But as Brian Maloney of Radio Equalizer noted:

Schultz must know that the blogger's allegations regarding Hannity's supposed "personal expenses" were never substantiated. In fact, those expenditures were actually related to costs incurred for transportation and lodging for performing artists at the concerts.

Also key: many of the children who will benefit from scholarships are still quite young, hence the need to save and invest much of funds that have been raised.

Perhaps the most outrageous smear is the assertion that Hannity has somehow avoided answering questions about the Freedom Alliance, when in fact he has simply deferred to the organization's lengthy refutation of the charges. What more is there to say?

The bottom line: Schultz and MSNBC aren't interested in the truth, only in perpetuating a disgusting smear campaign against a key cable rival.

For more on how the charges leveled by blogger Debbie Schlussel were investigated and found "fundamentally flawed" by both the American Spectator's R. Emmett Tyrrell and David Frum, click here.