CNN's Chris Cuomo isn't ready to equate Fox News' Sean Hannity with Bill O'Reilly

CNN&#039;s New Day gawks at Sean Hannity — (Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/CNN)

On Tuesday's New Day, CNN's Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota tried to get a handle on the bombshell that dropped on their cable news competitor Fox News on Monday, when a lawyer for Michael Cohen reluctantly revealed in court that along with President Trump and Republican fundraiser Elliot Broidy, Cohen's third client was Fox News star Sean Hannity. Hannity and Cohen's team had different interpretations on whether Cohen was really Hannity's lawyer, and Hannity himself offered a confusing mixture of explanations.

"Fox isn't saying a word about this, and it's going to be a mystery for both Hannity's viewers, as well as for his critics, as well as for his bosses," media critic Brian Stelter said. "I think this story tells us how Trump World really works and how tight knit the relationships really are. It's a reminder about all of these men and their relationships going back decades."

Political analyst Chris Cillizza said that the normal conflict-of-interest rules at Fox News don't apply to Hannity, who is "bigger than Fox," in some ways. But despite Hannity's protestation, "this has nothing to do with your right to privacy!" he added, using sandwiches to explain why Hannity was clearly out of line. Camerota noted that Bill O'Reilly was bigger than Fox News, too, but not big enough to keep his job when his settlements with multiple women became public. That made Cuomo nervous. "This is very different than that," he said. Hannity "said it's never involved a third party. We don't know anything different. I wouldn't put him in the same basket with Bill O'Reilly, not by a big stretch."

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Also on New Day, legal analyst Carrie Cordero said that "if the statements that I saw from Hannity yesterday are accurate statements, I don't think it looks like there is any legal privilege between" him and Cohen. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.