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Hannity's Latest Deceit

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I heard the press conference as it aired, so I knew something was wrong on Hannity's radio show when it sounded very different.

President Obama held a press conference Friday, looking to convince America we don't need to gut Social Security and Medicare if we can cut defense, oil subsidies or modestly raise taxes on the rich who did not deliver promised jobs in the last decade as their incomes soared. Obama sought to make his case to the American people.

Regardless of which side you are on in the debate over debt, tax cuts for the rich, handouts for corporate jets or Obama's re-election, Americans all agree that we need to hear both sides of the debate acurately so we can make up our minds - or do we?

I thought we all reject propaganda or yellow journalism distorting news. No one likes being compared to Tokyo Rose or Hitler's information minister Josef Goebbels, yet America's biggest political pundits show you can win by using censorship and distortion.

Last Friday, Hannity actually changed what Obama said so listeners cannot decide who is right and wrong. He has been systematically and repeatedly misleading audience for years.

Last week we showed how Hannity's call screeners use intimidation and repression by demanding phone numbers from liberal callers . But Friday, Hannity went back to a trick he'd been criticized for famously - selective, deceptive editing of news clips.

Remember when Jon Stewart busted Hannity on the Daily Show for astroturfing footage of crowd scenes to make a Michele Bachmann rally he promoted seem more well attended? Some called for Hannity's firing then, but Hannity apologized, claiming it was an honest mistake - Hannity's boss at News Corp. Roger Ailes pledged there would be firings if it happened again.

This is not a case of Hannity splicing together soundclips to make things clearer or shorter, this is Hannity omitting audio to deliberately change the answer. Hannity was petulant when he was taken out of context, for example calling his audience Tim McVeigh wannabes , he explained that was merely him pretending to be his detractors. But Hannity is seen here doing the same on a far more important topic - the President addressing the nation on our current fiscal priorities.

Before he aired this censored clip, Hannity actually told listeners to stay tuned, because he was going to soon show that Obama was avoiding answering Jake Tapper's question. If anything Obama was long-winded. Tapper's question in full:

Jake Tapper: Thank you, Mr. President. You've said that reducing the deficit will require shared sacrifice. We know - we have an idea of the taxes that you would like to see raised on corporations and on Americans in the top two tax brackets, but we don't yet know what you specifically are willing to do when it comes to entitlement spending. In the interest of transparency, leadership, and also showing the American people that you have been negotiating in good faith, can you tell us one structural reform that you are willing to make to one of these entitlement programs that would have a major impact on the deficit? Would you be willing to raise the retirement age? Would you be willing to means test Social Security or Medicare?

Below is the written transcript of the press conference, according to WSJ . In bold are the portions Hannity played, edited together slickly and seamlessly. Everything else was secretly censored.

Hannity edited together a total of four lines, wholly changing the answer. This means Hannity was lying when he said Obama avoids the question - judge for yourself. As usual, Hannity did not announce this was a "montage", edited, clipped, shortened, etc. either before or afterwards. The recording starts at the very end of Tapper's question:



