CNN analyst David Gergen delivered a searing critique of President Donald Trump and his allies' efforts to undermine the special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation Thursday night.

“This is an all-out propaganda war," Gergen said. "Hand-to-hand conflict, conducted by one side, conducted by the White House and, as you say, by the president's allies, who are doing everything they can to discredit the investigation, to discredit the institutions of the FBI and Justice Department in order to drive public opinion in the president's direction."

Gergen also bemoaned the fact that there has been no corresponding voice going in the opposition direction. Mueller's team, after all, does not appear to leak and has rightfully stayed out of the press, but it has become vulnerable to attack.

At the same time, no Democrat has emerged as a powerful defender of the Mueller probe, Gergen argued.

"I must say, I think that this is helping the president in public opinion," he said. "I think it's hurting our democracy to erode public trust in these institutions, and to protect the president at great expense."

Watch the clip below: