When rancher Cliven Bundy refused to pay $1 million in grazing fees owed to the U.S. government, Sean Hannity promoted his armed insurrection in response. But when his own working-class tenants get behind on their rent for just a few days, Hannity’s real estate company quickly slaps them with fines and evictions.
Hannity loves to hold himself up as a champion and/or spokesman for the little guy, despite supporting policies that benefit himself at their expense. When Trump adviser Michael Caputo recently said he had sold his home, ostensibly to pay legal bills associated with the Russia investigation, Hannity announced, “Nobody should have to lose their home."
But when it comes to Hannity’s own tenants, Hannity’s actions could not be more out of sync with his talk.
The Washington Post did the latest deep dive into Hannity’s real estate empire and found that Hannity, who reportedly earned $36 million in 2017 from his TV gig, alone, is even more predatory toward his working-class tenants than we knew.
That same year, Hannity’s management company filed for eviction more than 230 times at his largest Georgia properties. It’s a rate of 38%, more than double the statewide rate of 18%. At one 112-unit subidivision, 94 eviction actions were filed last year, WaPo reported. That’s almost one for every tenant, though multiple actions were filed against the same tenants.
Who were these people that did not get the same kind of sympathy and support given to Bundy and Caputo? The Post has some details:
Among the tenants Hannity’s property managers sought to evict, records show, were a former corrections officer and her wife, who fell behind while awaiting a disability determination; a double amputee who had lived in an apartment with her daughter for five years but did not pay on time after being hospitalized; and a single mother of three whose $980 rent check was rejected because she could not come up with a $1,050 cleaning fee for a bedbug infestation.
Furthermore, experts told The Post that the pattern suggests that management is using eviction threats not just to remove undesirable tenants but to generate revenue via accompanying fees.
Hannity’s lawyer says the Fox News host “is not and has never been involved in the management” the properties. Yet The Post also notes that Hannity personally signed documents for more than $20 million of HUD-insured loans. Hannity is also listed as the general manager of one of the dozens of his LLCs that own his rental properties.
The Post’s report focused on only the largest of Hannity’s Georgia properties. The paper noted that he owns more than 1,000 rental properties in seven states.
Late last month, Hannity claimed that his real estate investments reflect his love for the little guy. He wrote on his website:
It is ironic that I am being attacked for investing my personal money in communities that badly need such investment and in which, I am sure, those attacking me have not invested their money. The fact is, these are investments that I do not individually select, control, or know the details about; except that obviously I believe in putting my money to work in communities that otherwise struggle to receive such support.
Watch The Post’s interview with one of Hannity’s evicted tenants above. Underneath, Chris Hayes discusses Hannity’s practices from MSNBC’s May 10, 2018 All In with Chris Hayes.
Originally published at Newshounds.us
