(CNN) A former Bush administration attorney general defended the Trump administration Monday as it faces criticism for asking the FBI to knock down media reports about communications between Donald Trump's associates and Russians known to US intelligence during the 2016 presidential campaign.

During his tenure, Michael Mukasey limited communications between White House officials and the Department of Justice for pending criminal investigations to the attorney general, the White House counsel and their deputies.

But in an interview with Erin Burnett on CNN's "Outfront," Mukasey said White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus did nothing wrong when he asked both FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe to try to dispute the stories.

CNN reported last week that the FBI rejected the request , and a White House official said the request was only made after the FBI indicated to the White House it did not believe the reporting to be accurate. Press secretary Sean Spicer objected to CNN's characterization of the request, saying Thursday, "We didn't try to knock the story down. We asked them to tell the truth."

Mukasey, however, said the exchange between Priebus and McCabe was "perfectly natural."

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