Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio defends Sean Hannity's extensive coverage of conspiracy theories involving Seth Rich

Fox News host Sean Hannity has come under fire in recent days for spreading unfounded conspiracies about the death of Seth Rich, a former Democratic National Committee staffer. However, on Wednesday, he got some support from a surprising source: Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio.

After Hannity sent out a tweet saying his "heart is not troubled in the least" by a report that Fox News staffers are "embarrassed" by his crusade, Del Rio defended Hannity for what the coach described as asking "legitimate questions" (via Deadspin).

"Is it still possible to have legitimate questions asked and answered without venomous attacks based on political preferences?" Del Rio wrote on Twitter.

Rich's death has become a voracious talking point for many in the conservative media over the past month as unsubstantiated reports said he had been in contact with WikiLeaks and that he may have been the source of the DNC email leaks during the election, not Russia.  Some outlets have implied that the DNC played a role in orchestrating Rich's death.

The conspiracies gained even more steam when a private investigator for Rich's family repeated something he says he had heard from a Fox News reporter - that there was evidence that proved there had been contact between Rich and WikiLeaks. A local Fox outlet then ran a story based on the investigator's comments, and Fox News followed with its own story that it later retracted.

The investigator also suggested that the Metropolitan Police Department tried to cover up evidence. The police department has denied those allegations.

Fox News retracted its own story on the matter, saying "the article was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny," and that "upon appropriate review, the article was found not to meet those standards."

After the article was retracted, Hannity called his critics "the biggest phony hypocrites in the world." However, he later said he would stop discussing the story "at this time."