FILE PHOTO: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) speaks at a press conference about the National Defense Authorization Act in Washington, U.S., October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator John McCain on Friday strongly criticized President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican, for attacking the FBI and the Department of Justice amid the federal government’s Russia probe, saying such attacks only help strengthen Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Our nation’s elected officials, including the president, must stop looking at this investigation through the warped lens of politics and manufacturing partisan sideshows. If we continue to undermine our own rule of law, we are doing Putin’s job for him,” McCain said in a statement. He was referring to the federal probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion by Trump’s campaign.