Sinclair Broadcast Group’s local TV stations around the country are currently airing a commentary segment in which former Trump administration official Boris Epshteyn declares Michael Cohen a “rat.”
Cohen, a former longtime personal lawyer and “fixer” for President Donald Trump, testified publicly in a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on February 27. In his sworn testimony, Cohen offered new details about the president’s awareness of WikiLeaks’ plans to release hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee ahead of the 2016 election and Trump’s role in arranging hush money payments to women he had sexual relationships with, among other damning information. Cohen also testified that the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. had played more significant roles in a Trump Tower Moscow project and in arranging the hush money payments than previously disclosed.
In a new “must-run” segment about the testimony airing on dozens of Sinclair-controlled local news stations, Epshteyn -- a former Trump aide and Sinclair’s chief political analyst since 2017 -- fell in line with other pro-Trump media attempting to downplay the testimony. Epshteyn also emphatically denounced Cohen as a “rat.”
BORIS EPSHTEYN: President Trump's former personal attorney and rat, Michael Cohen, was questioned in a heated, all-day hearing in front of the House oversight committee this week. Despite Cohen’s scathing opening remarks, there were three key takeaways from his hearing.
One: Cohen said under oath that he did not take a trip to Prague to collude with Russia on behalf of then-candidate Donald Trump. Cohen stated that he did not have any evidence whatsoever of any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Two: Cohen said that he did not seek a position in the Trump administration. Many in the president’s inner circle as well as acquaintances of Cohen's have taken to Twitter to deny that ridiculous claim. That may mean that Cohen perjured himself again in his congressional testimony. If so, Cohen could face additional jail time on top of the three years that he’s due to start serving in May.
Three: Cohen repeatedly called himself a liar, exposing his bias against the president and making a total fool out of himself.
Here’s the bottom line: The good news for Democrats? They got an opportunity to continue to talk about President Trump and the Russia investigation for just a little longer. The bad news? Cohen’s testimony exposed their narrative for what it really is: totally fabricated nonsense.
Epshteyn previously worked in the Trump White House on the communications team after a stint on the Trump inaugural committee. He also served as a Trump media surrogate throughout the campaign and during the first days of his presidency. Epshteyn is personal friends with the president’s sons Eric and Donald Jr., and he has been spotted at Trump International Hotel multiple times, including with Don Jr.
Epshteyn privately testified before the House Intelligence Committee in 2017 on matters related to Russian collusion in the 2016 election.
The segment began running on Sinclair stations on February 28, and so far it has aired on at least 35 stations in at least 25 states. It is accompanied, typically in the same newscast, by an opposing “must-run” segment from Sinclair’s new liberal commentator Ameshia Cross.