As Michael Cohen strikes a new plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, admitting to lying to Congress on President Donald Trump‘s dealings with Russia, CNN’s Jim Acosta said one Washington insider had a warning for the commander in chief’s former fixer.

“The president and [his lawyer] Rudy Giuliani have had some pretty harsh words for Michael Cohen, but they are not alone,’ Acosta said Thursday. “I talked to a source close to the White House earlier today who described Michael Cohen as a ‘rat,’ adding that inmates hate rats.”

Earlier that day, CNN reported that Cohen blamed his lying on his loyalty to Trump, having claimed discussions on building a Trump Tower in Moscow ended back in January 2016. However, Cohen now says the project was weighed for months after that, continuing into June 2016.

But, as Acosta noted, Giuliani has defended the president, claiming his comments to Mueller’s office on the Moscow tower “are consistent with what Michael Cohen has said to the special prosecutors in this case.”

Watch the clip above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]