Sean Hannity was revealed as Michael Cohen's mystery third client in a Manhattan federal court proceeding today — after the judge ruled that the client's identity must be disclosed. Hannity later denied that Cohen had ever represented him "in any matter."
Why it matters: If Hannity was one of Cohen clients, he failed to disclose that information when covering the Cohen raid on his Fox News program.
"Michael Cohen has never represented me in any matter. I never retained him, received an invoice, or paid legal fees. I have occasionally had brief discussions with him about legal questions about which I wanted his input and perspective. ... I assumed those conversations were confidential, but to be absolutely clear they never involved any matter between me and a third-party."
The backdrop: Cohen was in court today in an attempt to prevent federal prosecutors from accessing documents and electronic devices obtained in a raid of his home and offices last week. In a previous court filing, Cohen said that he had given legal counsel to three clients in the past year, including President Trump and former RNC official Elliott Broidy. The judge revealed Hannity to be the third client on Monday.
The marijuana industry is booming, but it's hard for pot growers and sellers to advertise and promote their products.
Why it matters: Most media industries don’t accept weed ads, or have rules that make it nearly impossible to place them. These challenges, combined with the changing politics around pot, are hindering marijuana marketers.
Social media companies typically don’t allow marijuana groups to purchase ads. Both Facebook and Twitter prohibit the promotion of drugs and drug paraphernalia globally.
"There's a huge problem with legal cannabis business that are basically blocked from advertising on social media," says Michael Weiss, President and Founder of Nature’s Dream, Inc., which has a mobile app to help people research different marijuana strains.
There are some digital advertising networks, like Mantis, which is aimed at people with interests like cannabis, yoga and wellness. But even those networks are limited by the publishers that accept their ads.
And getting ads acceptedon radio and television can be a nightmare. "Most TV companies will only let you advertise if you can prove that the TV station or radio station has less than 30% of listeners that are under 21 years of age," says Celeste Miranda, co-founder of The Cannabis Story Lab.
For most marijuana advertisers, marketing opportunities on radio or television are limited to late night programming, when most children are asleep, or in the middle of an adult show, like pornography.
The great exception seems to be billboards and out of home advertising.
"We're seeing a lot of marketers turn to out-of-home in place of digital opportunities," says Kyle Del Muro, a consultant with several cannabis clients. "In Vegas billboards, are becoming a big thing,"
Because paid media is so difficult, most marketers rely heavily on P.R. Many marijuana marketers are focusing on education campaigns — especially with doctors, educating them about the benefits of medical marijuana for the treatment of cancer and terminal illness.
In cannabis, it's an education-first mindset, not product first.
— Matt Rizetta, CEO of the public relations agency N6A
What's next: Politicians are slowly warming up to the idea of marijuana becoming more mainstream, with the most notable exception being Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has vowed to crack down on marijuana legalization.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told HBO's Vice News Thursday he plans to introduce a bill to “decriminalize” marijuana at the federal level.
His actions come just weeks after former House Speaker John Boehner announced that he had joined the board of advisers of Acreage Holdings, a cannabis firm that operates in 11 states.
Voters will also have the opportunity to weigh in this election cycle, with a handful of states considering their own versions of marijuana legalization this year.
