Sean Hannity has been in touch with George Zimmerman since before he turned himself in, so it's no surprise he scored the first media interview with the suspect in the Trayvon Martin shooting. Still it's a hell of a get for the Fox News host. TV Newser, which was first to the story, reports that Zimmerman is going to talk about what happened the night Martin died, which will be the first time he's done so publicly. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for shooting Martin in what Zimmerman says was self-defense.

It's an odd move for Zimmerman, who hasn't yet testified about the night of the shooting, to agree to discuss it on television before he appears in court. That tactic didn't go so well for Jerry Sandusky, whose conversation with Bob Costas became part of the prosecution against him. But Hannity has established himself as a friend to Zimmerman since before the suspect was ever charged. He had an off-the-record conversation with Zimmerman before Zimmerman turned himself in in April, speaking with the suspect when even Zimmerman's attorneys couldn't reach him. Hannity said then he'd been pursuing Zimmerman for weeks for an interview. Then on his show, Hannity said prosecutors had "overcharged" Zimmerman, setting himself up as one of Zimmerman's "chief media allies," according to Huffington Post.

So while it is surprising Zimmerman decided to do an interview, his choice of interviewer was a no-brainer. Their conversation is scheduled to run the entire length of Hannity's hour-long show on Wednesday night.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at amartin at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Adam Martin