Embattled Fox News Anchor Sean Hannity to Return to Network Despite Reports

Variety reports that, despite rumors to the contrary, Fox News anchor Sean HANNITY will return to host his popular nightly show following the Memorial Day holiday. In a statement issued today, the network confirmed, "Like the rest of the country, Sean HANNITY is taking a vacation for Memorial Day weekend and will be back on Tuesday. Those who suggest otherwise are going to look foolish."

The anchor has found himself in the midst of a controversy after he promoted a since discredited story about last summer's death of Seth Rich, a DNC staffer who was murdered in Washington, D.C. in what local police believe to have been a botched robbery. HANNITY has gone on air of late, promoting an unproven theory that Rich was killed in exchange for providing internal documents to Wikileaks. His reporting has drawn outrage from Rich's family.

Earlier this week, Fox News said it had retracted its report on the story, published on FoxNews.com yet HANNITY continued to talk up the theory about Rich on his Tuesday radio show, noting that "this issue is so big now that the entire Russia collusion narrative is hanging by a thread."

On his Fox News broadcast Tuesday night, HANNITY backed down a bit, stating "Out of respect for the family's wishes, for now, I am not discussing the matter at this time."

Several advertisers, including Cars.com, have indicated they were removing their commercials from Hannity's program following his comments. In an interview with The Huffington Post on Wednesday, HANNITY shared his beliefs that the ad changes were mere efforts by progressives to silence him. "There's nothing that I did, nothing that I said, except they don't like my position politically," he said. "They'll try to ratchet up the intensity of their rationale. It does not justify an attempt to get me fired. And that's what this is. This is an attempt to take me out. This is a kill shot."

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