In his role as Trump-whisperer, Hannity was part of a larger group of “friends and advisers” who, according to the Post, convinced the president—in spite of warnings from Democratic lawmakers and intelligence agencies—that the document had to be published. “There was never any hesitation,” one presidential adviser said. “The president was resolved on this. He was not going to be persuaded [otherwise]. He wanted it out.” The fact that Hannity had predicted the memo would “shock the conscience,” and that its revelations would make “Watergate [look] like stealing a Snickers bar from a drugstore,” appeared to have more currency than Kelly’s notes of caution.

Trump got his wish on Friday afternoon, when the unredacted document was published on the House Intelligence Committee’s Web site, despite an F.B.I. statement citing “grave concerns” as to its accuracy. A cursory analysis of the document revealed it to be more or less a nothingburger, containing no significant new details and certainly nothing to warrant “jail time.” Hannity, however, was ecstatic, calling the document “explosive” on his Web site, tweeting that it represented “an unprecedented Government abuse of power,” and promising followers that he would discuss it “at length” on his radio show.

Within the Trump-Hannity feedback loop, Hannity’s power in Washington may have increased at Trump’s expense. One senior adviser joked to the Daily Beast that Hannity has essentially become a “senior counselor to the president.” But Hannity’s political calculus and incentives differ from those of the White House, which must now contend with a compromised relationship with the intelligence community, not to mention the increased scrutiny of special counsel Robert Mueller. Hannity closed the circle, but he may also have done irreparable harm to its most crucial link.