Former CIA Director Leon Panetta said Wednesday the White House should quit trying to intervene into the FBI's investigation of President Donald Trump's alleged ties to Russia.
"The American people deserve independent, bipartisan investigation into this issue, and the White House ought to be smart enough to let them do their job," he told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell.
The FBI is also investigating Russia's role in last year's presidential election, as The New York Times reported.
Panetta also called the White House enlisting senior administration officials, including the chairs of the House and Senate intelligence communities, to counter news stories on the subject a "minor-league mistake."
"It's probably because of the lack of experience among a lot of the staff members there," he said. "The one thing you do not want to do is to convey the appearance that somehow the White House is trying to influence investigations, particularly this investigation. This is a very, very sensitive investigation."
He added: "By trying to influence these chairmen and by trying to get them to speak out before they've even completed their investigation just raises questions about the credibility of those investigations."
"If this should continue, then I don't think there's any question that you need an independent prosecutor to look at the issue."