A former Sinclair Broadcast Group reporter said in an interview published on Wednesday that President Trump would not have won the election if it were not for the media company. 

“I would go so far as to say that if it weren’t for Sinclair Broadcasting, Donald Trump would not be in the Oval Office right now,” Jonathan Beaton, who used to work at Sinclair-owned WPEC in West Palm Beach, Fla., told Orlando Weekly.

{mosads}Beaton was embroiled in a legal dispute with the company after Sinclair sued him in Orange County courts for $5,700 in damages after he left the station before his contract was up. 

The former reporter said the company told him he needed to pay $25,000 to get out of his contract, despite the fact he was making about $44,000 per year. 

Sinclair faced backlash this week after a clip of local news anchors reading the same speech about media bias went viral.

“We’re concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country. The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media,” the script read. 

“More alarming, some media outlets publish these same fake stories … stories that just aren’t true, without checking facts first,” it continued. 

“Unfortunately, some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control ‘exactly what people think.’ … This is extremely dangerous to a democracy,” it says.

A Sinclair executive this week defended the promos, saying they were “focused on fact-based reporting” and showed the company’s “commitment to our communities.”

Trump also defended the promotion pieces on Twitter. 

The Fake News Networks, those that knowingly have a sick and biased AGENDA, are worried about the competition and quality of Sinclair Broadcast. The “Fakers” at CNN, NBC, ABC & CBS have done so much dishonest reporting that they should only be allowed to get awards for fiction!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2018