A veteran Democratic attorney and former ally to the Clintons has sharply criticized the mainstream media for downplaying internal divisions within the Democratic Party, which he describes as a "civil war." Julian Epstein, who served as chief legal counsel for House Democrats during the Clinton impeachment hearings and later worked on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, stated that legacy media outlets are not adequately covering the nature of what he perceives as extremism and bigotry on the left.
"If you rely on [MS NOW] for news, I think you’re basically illiterate and uninformed about what’s going on," Epstein told Fox News Digital. He extended similar criticism to CNN, suggesting that while less severe, it also falls short.
Epstein argued that the media frames the current infighting as a potential future conflict, when in his view, "We are in a civil war now." He specifically pointed to what he called the "extremism" and "bigotry" emerging on the left, citing critical race theory as a basis for division and public policy built around race. He also contended that the Democratic Party has embraced "Islamic extremism."
"And now that they have embraced Islamic extremism, they have gone one step further into a sectarian set of beliefs," Epstein said. "And I don’t think the news media is covering that, and they should be covering that."
He suggested that media reactions would be more intense if a movement comparable to what he described as "Hamas-aligned supporters" among Democrats were to emerge within the Republican Party. Epstein characterized the Iranian Axis, which includes Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, as a "racist ethno-supremacist movement on the planet" with a goal of establishing a "seventh-century caliphate" through violence against Jews and Christians, comparing it to Hitler.
"The Democratic Party is aligning with that," he asserted.
Epstein described the current movement within the party as a "road to Damascus" moment for moderate Democrats, leading them to realize the party "does not have a moral center." He criticized the party's embrace of what he called "failed postmodern liberal set of ideas" and its focus on identity politics and an expanding welfare state, which he believes is unsustainable, drawing parallels to perceived issues in Europe.
"So no, this is not a happy time, I think, for a Democrat, but more importantly, it’s not a happy time for the country," Epstein concluded.
MS NOW and CNN did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.