Once Bill O’Reilly had been brought down due to multiple accusations of Sexual Harassment it was sadly inevitable that someone else at Fox News would become a target. So few people were surprised when Debbie Schlussel, a lawyer and activist, accused Sean Hannity of making a “creepy” invitation to go up to his hotel room during a radio interview. Schlussel used to be a guest on Hannity’s show. But then things started to unravel immediately/
First, Hannity took to Twitter and denied the accusation, denounced Schlussel, and promised stern legal action.
Unlike with O’Reilly, a number of Hannity friends took to social media and defended the long term, conservative talker. Hannity was also helped by the fact that he didn’t seem to be the time who would harass women. He always exudes the air of a passionate, feisty, but otherwise good Catholic boy.
Next, Schlussel clarified her remarks. It was not, per say, sexual harassment. And the invitation was to Hannity’s hotel, presumably the bar for drinks, not his hotel room. Thus the next great sexual harassment scandal at Fox News collapsed before it even started.
Schlussel, by the way, has been accused of stalking Hannity for years, at one point accusing a charity with which he was associated of being a scam.
Hannity as accused her of telling lies about him for years.
The upshot of this kerfuffle is that the left has hit upon sexual harassment accusations as a weapon to take down prominent male conservatives. The gambit almost worked to derail Clarence Thomas’ nomination to the Supreme Court. It did work to derail Herman Cain’s presidential candidacy in 2012.
The strategy is particularly bold considering all of the things that former President Bill Clinton got away with.
The dust-up illustrates one of the reasons Vice President Mike Pence will not dine out with a woman or attend a social event where alcohol is served without his wife being present. The revelation elicited some eye rolling and worse by some people who felt that Pence was being a prude and was denying female employees opportunities for advancement by liquoring up the boss.
But considering the fall of O’Reilly (and remember no proof has ever been made public about his alleged misdeeds) and the attack on Pence, the vice president seems to be just exercising prudence.
Doubtless, the Schlussel gambit will likely short-circuit whatever plan might have been in the works to bring down Fox News by picking off its male talent one by one. Hannity has shown how fending off such an accusation is done.
