CNN analyst Josh Campbell, a former FBI special agent, criticized Fox News hosts on Sunday, accusing them of doing a disservice to their viewers by attacking the bureau and other institutions.

Campbell said during an interview on CNN that there are a lot of good and hardworking people at Fox News.

"My focus here is on the prime-time lineup that often tries to masquerade itself as news when in fact it's really entertainment," he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

"You look at the last year and what has now become fair game for these attacks. First it was the FBI. It was our institutions of justice, and now even high school kids are becoming the victims."

Campbell said that there is no "intelligent debate on ideas."

"You see attacks on people and on institutions. So we don't have an intelligent debate refuting Russian collusion, we get attacks on the FBI and on Bob Mueller," he said, referring to the special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

"These folks start with the conclusion and then selectively pick facts in order to reach that conclusion. I think it does a disservice for the viewers."

Campbell earlier this year said in an op-ed that he decided to leave the FBI due to the "relentless" attacks on the bureau from critics such as Trump and congressional Republicans.

In an op-ed published in February in The New York Times, he wrote that "political attacks on the bureau must stop" and said he was "reluctantly turning in my badge and leaving an organization I love."

President Trump Donald John TrumpBubba Wallace to be driver of Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin NASCAR team Graham: GOP will confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the election Southwest Airlines, unions call for six-month extension of government aid MORE has frequently attacked the FBI and Mueller's probe into Russian election interference and possible ties between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

Trump has repeatedly dismissed the Russia probe as a "witch hunt" and has denied collusion.

He is known to frequently watch Fox News and has often praised the network's reporting.