The Hill’s John Solomon, One Of Hannity’s Go-To Russia Reporters, Now An Opinion Writer

One of Fox News star Sean Hannity’s favorite reporters has officially been moved to the opinion section.

John Solomon, who has been a frequent guest on Hannity and other Fox News opinion shows, has been a key figure in Hannity’s year-plus long quest to deliver a “Deep State/Uranium One” counter-narrative to the Trump/Russia probe. After collaborating at Circa with fellow Hannity fave Sara Carter on a number of stories “that helped shape a narrative that the real scandal of the Russia probe involved unmasking by the intelligence community and potential anti-Trump bias at the FBI,” Solomon moved on to The Hill. And since arriving at The Hill as its executive vice president of digital video, Solomon has continued to deliver “bombshells” that the conservative media has lapped up, but have largely wilted under heavy scrutiny or just plain flopped in the end.

As of Monday, Solomon has been relegated to the opinion section of The Hill. Erik Wemple of the Washington Post tweeted out that The Hill’s editor-in-chief sent out a memo to the staff stating that Solomon’s writing would be as an opinion contributor.

A memo from Bob Cusack, editor in chief of The Hill, notifies colleagues that John Solomon will be "busy with our video initiatives, but effective immediately when he writes for us, it will be as an opinion contributor."

— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) May 14, 2018

In a statement provided to Contemptor, Solomon indicated that the choice to have his writing classified as opinion was his.

“I requested to make this change because for the longest time I have wanted to write a column on accountability issues in Washington, much in the spirit of the late columnist Jack Anderson,” Solomon stated. “After 32 years in the business of breaking news at AP, Washington Post, Newsweek, Washington Times, Circa and The Hill, I’ve craved the opportunity to spend more time helping people understand the underlying issues uncovered by accountability journalism.”

He continued, “The column format affords me the chance to bring analysis to the table under a wonderfully neutral brand like The Hill. Bob was kind enough to oblige. That said, this is not some sort of coming out party where I suddenly develop a liberal or conservative opinion. Rather, it is designed to allow me to analyze the facts my reporting has uncovered and help readers try to understand the complexities of Washington’s accountability issues. As I have been my whole career, I will continue to be an equal opportunist in looking at all sides of the issues and talking to both sides of the political aisle.”

Earlier this year, the Washington Post and HuffPost pointed out issues and problems with Solomon’s reporting, further noting that newsroom staffers at The Hill had complained to management about some of Solomon’s stories.

Shortly after Solomon’s move to opinion contributor was announced to Hill staff, a new piece of his was published. The title? ‘Mueller may have a conflict — and it leads directly to a Russian oligarch.’

Yep.