“A mass exodus is in the works inside the halls of the DOJ and FBI,” Fox correspondent David Spunt reported Monday. He quoted a current FBI agent saying of the prospective purge, “We took an oath to protect the American people and the Constitution and now we are being targeted for it.”

But Hannity touted the administration’s actions during a monologue later that night.

“While President Trump is reasserting America's dominance on the world stage, he is harnessing DOGE right here at home, to drain the swamp, firing politicized bureaucrats, at both the DOJ, the FBI, those that weaponized and politicized their institutions is simply being escorted out of the building, as they should be,” he said.

Hannity then mocked how “the state-run legacy media mob of the Democrats erupt into a predictable and entertaining fit of hysteria” before airing a clip of MSNBC host Joe Scarborough saying that the result of Trump “gutting the FBI” is a win for “our enemies, those people who seek to do harm to America and to kill American citizens.”

The apparent glee of Fox’s resident Trump political operative at the potential dismantling of the FBI comes in stark contrast to how Hannity previously described his yearslong campaign targeting the bureau’s investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and other probes related to Trump. Over and over again, Hannity stressed to his viewers that his criticism was limited to a handful of decision-makers at the very top of the bureau. He frequently touted his respect for the FBI rank and file and called attention to the FBI pin he said he wore in solidarity with its agents.

Here’s Hannity in 2019:

SEAN HANNITY: My pin is not straight.

By the way, do you know what this is? This is an FBI flag pin. You want to know why I wear it?

TUCKER CARLSON: Yes.

HANNITY: An FBI friend of mine gave it to me because he says, I know you are going after these few at the top, thank you. And that you always say the 99.9% that are putting their lives on the line for us, and I mean it. Ain't that cool?

CARLSON: Exactly, good for you. It's totally cool, and you're right, I think.

And in 2020:

SEAN HANNITY: They threaten [former national security adviser Michael] Flynn behind — to throw him behind bars, threaten his son and his family. He had mounting legal bills — oh, he's broke. After 33 years of service, the lieutenant general, yes, he was bankrupt, he lost his house, his reputation in ruins all because of [former FBI director] Comey, his corrupt agents at the very top of the FBI, they all hated Trump, they've been involved in stopping getting elected and then sabotaging him ever since, spying on him — in the words of Attorney General Barr — deep into the Trump presidency.

Now, this is why I make a distinction. You know, this pin is that the FBI pin in solidarity for the 99% of our federal and state law enforcement officials. They serve us bravely and with honor and with integrity, the best of the best. But the malignant, agenda-driven 1%, they're now threatening the very basis of our justice system, they must be held accountable.

And in 2022:

SEAN HANNITY: As a matter of fact on this program for the rank and file, the 95, 98, 99%, we are very grateful for all the good FBI agents and employees that risk their lives to keep us safe. We support them.

Now, but the FBI is not immune from oversight and they're not immune from criticism and they're not immune from having bad apples or being called out for massive agency-wide failures and the failures inside especially the upper echelon of the FBI.

And 2023:

SEAN HANNITY: So, now, we're left with one basic fundamental question, who is going to hold the DOJ and the FBI accountable? Not the rank and file, I want to be clear. They're putting their lives on the line to protect us every day. I'm talking about the upper echelon.

This isn’t the first time Hannity has abandoned his defense of law enforcement in favor of his status as a Trump lickspittle. Hannity repeatedly told his viewers that Trump’s long-stated promise to pardon what he termed the “J6 hostages” would be limited only to nonviolent offenders who participated in storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. But after Trump pardoned or commuted to time served every person convicted in connection to their actions that day — including those who violently assaulted law enforcement and participated in seditious conspiracies — Hannity gave Trump a friendly platform to downplay the attacks.

Here are 30 additional examples of Hannity stressing his support for the rank and file of the FBI (transcripts via Nexis).

From the February 13, 2018, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: One of the reasons we are getting to the truth and I think our audience needs to know this because there are good and honorable people, most of them, the vast majority, the 99 percent and the FBI and the intelligence community. They are fed up with this. They are now talking and stepping up.

From the January 15, 2019, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: The FBI should never be in the business of investigating political differences or policy decisions. They shouldn't be, well, lashing out because of personal opinions that they have. The role of the FBI which is the 99 percent of field agents of rank-and-file, they do their jobs. They investigate crimes and criminals. Not politics, not policy and especially not launching a counterintelligence investigation into a duly elected president with zero evidence because you don't like him.

From the April 18, 2019, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Every FBI rank and file guy, the 99.9 percent I know have all thanked me. Because they're hurt their rep. This is the premier law enforcement agency in the world, just like our intelligence community same thing. The premier intelligence community in the world. They were hurt by a few at the top and they're angry about it.

From the April 25, 2019, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: I agree with you about the FBI, the 99 percent are good people. And this is only a few at the top. But if they in fact use that dossier as the bulk of information and its disinformation to use the New York Times words from Russia that Hillary Clinton, the opposition party candidate paid for that they never fully inform the FISA judges of - and the Grassley Graham memo, Nunes memo are right. That means everybody that signed off on those four FISA applications that would be the first one, Jim Comey, that would be Sally Yates, Ponte (ph) today and Rod Rosenstein.

From the May 2, 2019, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: By the way, thank god for the great intelligence officers that serve we the people. They are protecting us every day, the 99 percent, thank God for the premiere law enforcement agency in the entire world, the FBI, the 99 percent.
Tonight, though, we know the deep state aggressively spied on the Trump campaign during and after the election. That is the biggest abuse of power. That's what we've got to solve, and if we don't get to the bottom of it, we lose the country.

From the May 13, 2019, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Now, the president is also calling out the current FBI Director Christopher Wray, accusing him of protecting the same gang who tried to overthrow the duly elected president of the United States. You know, we smelly Walmart people, irredeemable deplorables who cling to god, and guns, and bible, and religion. That's us.
So far, I don't see Director Christopher Wray frankly doing a darn thing to clean up the upper echelon of this FBI. That's his job, for the 99 percent of FBI special agents that put their lives at risk for us every single day, you owe it to them to get this department, this premier law enforcement agency right with the American people.
What has Wray done to hold the Comey accountable? Nothing. What about McCabe? What about Baker? What about Strzok? What about Page?

From the May 20, 2019, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: This material must be made available. Oh, where is Jerry Nadler? Where is, oh, mister -- oh, Adam Schiff, the biggest liar in Congress, the cowardly Schiff, because if Comey, Strzok, other high level officials, the highest level, not rank-and-file.
We always make a distinction. I have an FBI pin and a CIA pin on tonight. The 99 percent that protect us every day.
But those in the FBI and the CIA at the upper echelon, the intel community, they are withholding exculpatory evidence, let me tell you, this is bigger than we ever thought. It means the level of premeditated fraud, conspiracy against the FISA court. That means there was a real attempt to steal a presidential election with Russian lies paid for by Hillary and an effort to unseat when they lost a duly elected president of you, the people. Much worse than we ever knew.

From the May 28, 2019, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: How does James Comey with a straight face say, oh, we don't spy in the FBI? By the way, I believe that about the 99 percent of FBI special agents, thank God that the premier law enforcement agency in the world, by far, remains out today.

From the August 8, 2019, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Now that we have these 302s over all of this confirmation that you are hearing tonight, Congressman, we seem to have two separate paths that we use for spying. Again, the 99 percent of the FBI, great people.
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): Right.
HANNITY: The premier law enforcement agency in the world. On our intelligence side, the premier intelligence agencies in the world. But at the highest levels, it seems that both we had outsourcing of tactics and means of spying on Americans that would be illegal, they did it purposely to seemingly to circumvent American laws and on the other side, of course, we have the dirty dossier.

From the August 22, 2019, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: But I can tell you with 1,000 percent confidence, all of this abuse of power and corruption did a occur, and it's all the evidence anyone would need to see it. And sadly, tonight, I must report that the new FBI director, for some inexplicable reason, Christopher Wray is now stonewalling the investigation into the investigators every step of the way.
That is not a good sign for cleaning up what I have said, I have an FBI pin right here and the American flag, is the premier law enforcement agency in the world.

From the September 4, 2019, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Now, this new information tonight takes the actions of Jim Comey to a whole level of duplicitous lying and the big question tonight is why Director Wray of the FBI not working hard to clean up his FBI, our FBI.
I have an FBI pin right here, Director Wray, if you're watching.
This is the premiere law enforcement agency in the world. Why is the FBI under Director Wray refuse to cooperate with a simple Freedom of Information Act request?

From the September 18, 2019, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: The inspector general's completed report is now in the hands of the attorney general, Barr, who along with the FBI Director Wray is reviewing this material for possible redactions. Now, Director Wray seems to be hesitant, he really does, and wanting to fix what is the greatest, the premier law enforcement agency in the entire world.
I hope Director Wray changes course and commits himself to implementing the changes so that 99.9 percent of law-abiding FBI agents that keep us safe every day that we can have confidence in all of them. It's about one-tenth of 1 percent.

From the September 20, 2019, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Matt, do we as American citizens have to worry about people that we entrust, and I'll even argue that 99 percent -- look, our FBI is the premier law enforcement agency in the world, in the world.
WHITAKER: I totally agree with you.
HANNITY: We are not talking about the 99.9 percent. We are talking about the 1 percent that we know abuse power. We now have to worry about these - - listen.

From the January 8, 2020, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: My sources are telling me, following that, American intelligence had been tracking Soleimani for days. That's how good -- you noticed how I always delineated the 99 percent of greatest law enforcement agency, the FBI, the 99 percent, the greatest intelligence agencies in the world? Yes, that's what tracked Soleimani for days. Not the 1 percent of the -- well, corrupt, abuse of power, deep state actors.

From the January 13, 2020, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: What about Director Wray? I don't see the urgency. I want to see it in FBI director, to protect the 99 percent of great, brave men and women that make up the world's best law enforcement agency ever.

From the February 6, 2020, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Director Wray, I'll say it again -- please do the job for the 99 percent of the world's premier law enforcement agency. They deserve it. That's the way you clean the swamp. If you don't want to do the job, let somebody else do it.

From the April 29, 2020, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Now, to the credit of the Attorney General of the United States Bill Barr, the attorney general has been leaving these little crumbs here, there, and everywhere, and if you listen to what he's saying, oh, the president was spied on, the candidate was spied on.
He's made other statements like, yes, no, this isn't -- this is not about writing a paper, meaning the Durham investigation, this is about justice. This, my source tells me is all happening because the attorney general believes in the rule of law.
By the way, I have an FBI pin here and I have a CIA pen here. Why? For the 99 percent that do a great job and protect us every day.
We must restore confidence in our premier law enforcement agency, the premier agency in the world, the premier intelligence agency in the world, for the sake of our Constitution, for the sake of the 99 percent of people who bravely serve these institutions and protect us.

From the May 4, 2020, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Director Wray, did you protect the deep state infrastructure? Now, do you want to restore -- this is his challenge -- America's faith and what is the world, not just the U.S., I have - this is the pin right there, this is an FBI pin right here.
I -- this is the solidarity with the 99 percent of courageous, law-abiding, good law enforcement, the premier law enforcement and the world. They deserve their good name back, because they do the right thing. They protect us, and they risk their lives.
Or, Director Wray, do you want justice to prevail? Or are you more interested in protecting likes of Comey and Strzok, and McCabe, and other, well, former corrupt individuals.

From the June 17, 2020, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: And as thousands were racing down the steps to get out of those towers -- well, this other group of people, they were running up in the other direction, brave members of the FDNY, NYPD, so many others, to save the lives of fellow human beings.
The 99 percent, they are good people. They are brave people. They deserve our respect.
As I've been critical of a few people in the FBI that abused power, I still wear this pin, the FBI, for the 99 percent. I'm -- what -- we got to make the distinction as a country.

From the July 1, 2020, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Senator, I was so critical of the 1 percent but I always went out of my way to remind people, the 99 percent in the FBI, in our intelligence community, they are good people.

From the July 20, 2020, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: I am told that we now believe we have found not only the person that was the main source for the dirty Russian Steele dossier, you're smiling. That means I'm probably over the target.
And I've also heard that there are people that are good, the 99 percent within the FBI community, the world's premier law enforcement agency, and the CIA, the world's premier intelligence agency, the 99 percent of good people. They are now beginning to talk and they are beginning to tell about stories that they warned everybody not to do certain things, and they were ignored, which means that's even worse than we thought.

From the April 12, 2021, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: And, you know, Larry, in the middle of our coverage and we were proven right about the abuse of power and corruption with the deep state, and dirty Russian disinformation dossier used a spy in a presidential candidate, then a president, it all happen. Those people still have not been held accountable.
But I always went way to point out, I don't want to disparage the 99 percent of FBI agents that do a great job for us. The 99 percent of intelligence in an evil world that keep us safe every day doing things we don't even want know about.

From the April 20, 2021, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: We made that distinction office when we expose deep state corruption at the highest levels of the FBI, the 1 percent, not the 99 percent that do their jobs honorably in the FBI.
…
Just like the 99 percent of FBI guys, I was -- I was the loudest voice going after those that abused power and those that are corrupt, but I always reminded people, that's only 1 percent. The 99 percent of officers, their jobs getting almost impossible to do at this point.

From the February 8, 2022, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Now, the only difference is they won't need to lie to the FISA court to spy. This is extremely chilling, especially because Director Wray never held these people accountable, never cleaned up his bureau of the one percent. I have my FBI pen still right there, representing the 99 percent of good people that will risk their lives and obey the laws, and not abuse power.

From the August 9, 2022, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Again, let me be very clear, I used to always say on this program during the Russia hoax, 99 percent rank-and-file FBI agents, put their lives at risk, work hard to keep this country safe. Tonight, I say it's about 95 percent. There are a lot of good people in the FBI and in law enforcement and in the intelligence community.
The FBI and the DOJ, they have sadly earned the country's distrust, especially the upper echelon which we now know has been and continues to remain rotten to the core.

From the August 16, 2022, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Again, let me be clear, I respect FBI rank and file special agents who do the work that protect and serve all of this country. They do the right thing. I have zero respect for the upper echelon of the FBI and I certainly don't trust any of them and they have earned all of our distrust. They leak, they lie and they have turned America's premier law enforcement body into a wing of the Democratic Party.

From the September 24, 2022, edition of Fox News’ Unfiltered:

HANNITY: And anyone can be investigated, I actually took notes. It's not about criminality, it is about Intel gathering.
We have agencies that are involved in that. I actually have this American flag pin right here. It's an FBI pin, and I wear it for the rank and the file. Because I know there are people that I call them the 95 -- ninety nine percent -- whatever the percentage is, these are good people that work hard, that put their lives on the line, want to do their jobs and we now have -- the floodgates are about to open. This is just the beginning, Dan.

From the October 13, 2022, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Maybe the attorney general can stop weaponizing the DOJ. Maybe Director Wray can stop politicizing FBI and return it to where it should be, and that is the world's premier law enforcement agency. I have an FBI pin right there, and that's for the 99 percent of good, honest agents that put their lives on the line every day.

From the March 1, 2023, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Yeah, like look at what -- they look at the way they treated Roger Stone or Paul Manafort.
Now, Nicole and Steve, thank you. You are leading the pack and we will be hearing from dozens of your fellow agents talking about how the FBI has been politicized, the DOJ weaponize. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your service.
And for all the rank and file FBI agents that do a great job and protect and serve this country, I can't thank them enough. We're not talking about them. Thank you for being with us. We appreciate it.

From the July 20, 2023, edition of Fox News’ Hannity:

HANNITY: Now, I don't work for the FBI but it doesn't really seem like Joe played a real integral role. Doesn't it seem like it, in his son's business deals? Because here's the sad part, upper management within our Department of Justice and our FBI, not the rank and file, the FBI rank and file brave people to put their lives on the line and protect our country, I'm not blaming them, but the people at the top, in the DOJ and the FBI were protecting the entire Biden family.