Hugh Hewitt (born February 22, 1956) is an American radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network and a lawyer, academic, and author. A conservative and a Catholic, he comments on society, politics, and media bias in the United States. Hewitt is also a law professor at Chapman University School of Law, and a regular political commentator on MSNBC and CNN.
Video Hugh Hewitt
Early life
Hewitt is the son of Marguerite (née Rohl) and William Robert Hewitt. He attended John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Warren, Ohio, and Harvard University, and graduated cum laude with a B.A. in government in 1978. After leaving Harvard, he worked as a ghostwriter for Richard Nixon in California and New York, before studying at the University of Michigan Law School, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif. Hewitt received his J.D. degree in 1983, then moved to Washington D.C. to clerk for Judges Roger Robb and George MacKinnon on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1983-84.
Hewitt worked in many posts in the Reagan administration, including Deputy Director and General Counsel of the Office of Personnel Management, General Counsel for the National Endowment for the Humanities, Assistant White House Counsel and Special Assistant to the Attorney General.
Maps Hugh Hewitt
Career
Hewitt returned to California in 1989 to oversee construction of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum as the library's executive director from groundbreaking through dedication and opening. In 1990, Hewitt sparked controversy by proposing screening of researchers wishing to use the library resources. Hewitt suggested refusing admission to researchers deemed "unfriendly" - specifically Bob Woodward, whom he characterized as "not a responsible journalist." John Taylor, a spokesman for Nixon, overturned Hewitt's decision after two days. It became the subject of editorial rebuke in The New York Times.
Hewitt left the Nixon Library in 1990 to practice law, and began a weekend radio talk show for the Los Angeles radio station KFI, where he broadcast until 1995. In the spring of 1992, he began co-hosting L.A. PBS member station KCET's nightly news and public affairs program, Life & Times, and remained with the program until the fall of 2001, when he began broadcasting his own radio show in the afternoons. Hewitt received three Emmys for his work on Life & Times on KCET, and also conceived and hosted the 1996 PBS series Searching for God in America.
He used to be a weekly columnist for the Daily Standard (the online edition of The Weekly Standard) and World. He also occasionally appears as a political/social commentator on programs such as The Dennis Miller Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Larry King Live, The O'Reilly Factor and The Today Show. On April 24, 2006, Hewitt appeared as a guest on The Colbert Report.
Hewitt has been criticized by Andrew Sullivan, who calls him a "Christianist." When Sullivan appeared on Hewitt's radio show to promote his book The Conservative Soul, a lively exchange ensued and Hewitt criticized Sullivan's book as intellectually messy.
Hewitt also became a Professor of Law at Chapman University School of Law during that time. He currently teaches constitutional law. In addition to his contributions as a professor, Professor Hewitt founded and continues to guide the legal scholarship of the Nexus Journal of Law and Policy.
Broadcasts
The Hugh Hewitt Show (radio)
Hewitt's nationally syndicated radio show, The Hugh Hewitt Show, is broadcast from California from 6 to 9 am ET on weekdays. The show appears on more than 75 stations and is syndicated by the Salem Radio Network. Beginning April 4, 2016, the show moved to a morning drive time slot.
Although Hewitt's background is in law, government, and politics, he also covers American cultural trends and the entertainment industry. He frequently critiques the mainstream media on air, often inviting journalists to defend their work on the show. Past interviews with Mark Halperin, then atABC News, and British historian Andrew Roberts lasted for the entire three hours of the show.
His regular contributors include law professors John C. Eastman, former Dean of Chapman University School of Law, and Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of UC Irvine Law School (whom Hewitt calls "The Smart Guys"), James Lileks, Mark Steyn, United States Naval Academy English professor Dr. David Allen White (who does a monthly Shakespeare showcase), and Congressman David Dreier (R-CA), as well as frequent callers from around the country. He used to spend the 15th hour of the week discussing movies with "Emmett of the Unblinking Eye".
Hugh Hewitt (television)
On June 24, 2017, Hugh Hewitt debuted, a half-hour television show on MSNBC in the Saturdays 8 a.m. EST timeslot.
Political views
Hewitt has described George Will and Charles Krauthammer as models for his style of punditry. Politico described Hewitt as "ardent Reaganite".
Donald Trump
Hewitt participated in several of the 2016 Republican primary debates, where he clashed with Donald Trump. Hewitt said that Trump did not posses "the temperament to be president". In February 2016, Hewitt wrote that, despite being repeatedly publicly insulted by Trump, he would support him should he become the Republican nominee for President. In June 2016, after Trump's controversial remarks concerning Judge Gonzalo Curiel, Hewitt publicly called on the RNC to disendorse Trump as nominee. A week later, Hewitt reversed his position. On August 3, he publicly floated the idea of replacing Donald with Ivanka Trump on the ticket. On October 8, he called on Trump to drop out of the race because of a controversial recording of Trump that was published the previous day. Hewitt has said he ultimately voted for Trump.
Hewitt supported Trump's decision to re-shuffle his foreign policy staff in March-April 2018, and place John Bolton and Mike Pompeo in key national security positions. He described John Bolton, a nationalist hawk, as "peace-through-strength, 600-[Navy] ship, Reagan conservative". According to Politico, Hewitt emerged "perhaps the most public advocate for Trump's hawkish new national security team at a time when others, even inside his own party, have voiced increasing fears that Trump is surrounding himself with war-minded hawks who may play to the president's worst instincts."
Media
A recurring theme on Hewitt's show is accusing the mainstream media of liberal bias and lack of transparency.
Scott Pruitt
In April 2018, Hewitt defended Scott Pruitt amid controversy over Pruitt's expenditures as EPA administrators and a conflict of interest over renting a condo at discounted prices from a lobbyist representing clients regulated by the EPA. Hewitt argued that the top EPA ethics official had approved Pruitt's rental arrangement, and that it therefore did not constitute a gift. Richard Painter, ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, argued against Hewitt, saying it was a "violation of the gift rules, and no ethics lawyer could cover that up".
Hewitt has argued that media coverage of Pruitt has been "hyperpartisan". In an interview with Pruitt, Hewitt said "I know you are not a climate denier"; Pruitt rejects the scientific consensus on climate change.
Hugh Hewitt's son, James, is a political appointee working under Pruitt.
Books
- The Queen: The Epic Ambition of Hillary and the Coming of a Second "Clinton Era" (2015, ISBN 1-4555-6251-3)
- The Happiest Life: Seven Gifts, Seven Givers, and the Secret to Genuine Success (2013, ISBN 1-5955-5578-1)
- The Brief Against Obama: The Rise, Fall & Epic Fail of the Hope & Change Presidency (2012, ISBN 1-4555-1630-9)
- A Mormon in the White House?: 10 Things Every American Should Know about Mitt Romney (2007, ISBN 1-59698-502-X)
- A Guide to Christian Ambition: Using Career, Politics, and Culture to Influence the World (2006, ISBN 0-7852-8871-6)
- Painting the Map Red: The Fight to Create a Permanent Republican Majority (2006, ISBN 0-89526-002-6)
- Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation That's Changing Your World (2005, ISBN 0-7852-8804-X)
- If It's Not Close, They Can't Cheat: Crushing the Democrats in Every Election and Why Your Life Depends on It (2004, ISBN 0-7852-6319-5)
- In, But Not Of: A Guide to Christian Ambition (2003, ISBN 0-7852-6395-0)
- The Embarrassed Believer (1998, ISBN 0-8499-1419-1)
- Searching for God in America: The Companion Volume to the Acclaimed TV Series (1996, ISBN 0-7881-9914-5)
- First Principles: A Primer of Ideas for the College-Bound Student (1987, ISBN 0-89526-793-4)
References
External links
- Official website
- Hewitt's columns at Townhall.com
- Appearances on C-SPAN
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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