On Monday, Fox News host Sean Hannity threatened legal action against the New York Times unless the newspaper issue a public apology and a retraction over a number of columns criticizing the right-wing pundit’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. The Times issued a response on Tuesday, saying “our answer is no.”
In a letter addressed to Hannity attorney Charles Harder, The Time’s legal counsel David E. McCraw wrote: “The columns are accurate, do not reasonably imply what you and Mr. Hannity allege they do, and constitute protected opinion.”
“In response to your request for an apology and retraction, our answer is no,” the letter concludes.
Here’s the letter:
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New York Times newsroom lawyer David McCraw delivers this response to @seanhannity request for retraction and apology related to @nytimes coverage: "No." Addressed to Hannity lawyer Charles Harder: pic.twitter.com/0v7URfo1kz
— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) April 28, 2020
The New York Times is not the only one critical of Sean Hannity’s coverage of the pandemic. Vox recently published a study conducted by the Becker Friedmand Institue that links Hannity’s coronavirus misinformation to “a greater number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.”
RELATED: Study: Exposure To Sean Hannity Led To Greater Number Of COVID-19 Cases And Deaths.
