Sean Hannity ventured into tinfoil hat territory Monday to stoke suspicions about Barack Obama.
The Fox News host claimed the former president was activating “deep state operatives” with his critical comments about President Donald Trump. And panelists Sidney Powell, a lawyer for former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) appeared to agree. (Watch the video below.)
In a phone call with former members of his administration on Friday, Obama called Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic “an absolute chaotic disaster” and said the Trump Justice Department threatened the rule of law by dropping charges against Flynn. Flynn admitted lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia during the probe into Russian election interference.
Obama said the Justice Department’s reversal should instill urgency to ensure that presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins the election.
In an exit question on his show, Hannity asked: “Yes or no, Sidney: Obama’s comments this weekend ― he’s been awfully quiet. Was he sending a message to deep state operatives to go out and do more dirty work? ’Cause that’s how I interpreted it.”
Check out the responses from Powell and Nunes below.
The so-called deep state is a term often invoked by right-wingers, including Trump, to describe a shadowy group of anti-Trump bureaucrats they believe manipulate and undermine policy. And it’s been used by Fox News to spin the Justice Department’s dismissal of the Flynn prosecution as proof of a conspiracy.
H/T Media Matters