Former CIA director Michael Hayden said in an interview that aired on Friday that the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin had "the classic outlines of a Russian intelligence soft approach."

"I mean, nobody passed out business cards that said 'GRU,' but it was a soft approach and no response. No one had the instinct of saying, 'maybe we oughta tell somebody about this, like the FBI," Hayden told Hill.TV's Buck Sexton and Krystal Ball, referring to the Moscow intelligence agency.

Hayden went on to hit President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE for his campaign's handling of the meeting, which has become a centerpiece in the investigation of Russia's 2016 election meddling.

"If you're running for president of the United States, you want to play in the big leagues? You should know how to hit a big-league curveball, and so you've got at least incompetence, and maybe a real good dose of hubris here. That is short of criminality, I get that," he continued.

Donald Trump Jr. Don John Trump'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic requests pardon from Trump: 'Be my hero please' Zaid Jilani discusses Trump's move to cancel racial sensitivity training at federal agencies Trump International Hotel in Vancouver closes permanently MORE, current White House adviser Jared Kushner Jared Corey KushnerAbraham Accords: New hope for peace in Middle East Tenants in Kushner building file lawsuit alleging dangerous living conditions Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing MORE and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort Paul John ManafortOur Constitution is under attack by Attorney General William Barr Bannon trial date set in alleged border wall scam Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE sat down with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at the meeting after British music producer Rob Goldstone told Trump Jr. in an email that she could offer damaging information on then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonFox News poll: Biden ahead of Trump in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio Trump, Biden court Black business owners in final election sprint The power of incumbency: How Trump is using the Oval Office to win reelection MORE.

Goldstone told Trump Jr. that the information “would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.”

The Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating Russian election meddling, said on Thursday they want Cohen to testify about the claims he knew about the 2016 meeting before it took place.

— Julia Manchester