A former CIA agent said the Trump family is undoubtedly being targeted by intelligence agencies and other actors looking to damage the Trump administration.

Bob Baer, a former CIA case officer, made the comments Friday during an appearance on “The Laura Ingraham Show.” Ingraham asked Baer if right-wing populist political activists should be concerned about being monitored by deep state actors.

“[Y]ou can count on it that people are after the Trump family right now.”

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“For you and me, no … we’re not that important to the equation,” Baer said. “But you can count on it that people are after the Trump family right now.”

“In the government they’re combing through intercepts, they’re combing through conversations. Nobody in that family is not being watched by the press, by foreign governments who have interests in this — and if you in any way were to become a public figure in politics, yeah, you’re vulnerable,” said Baer.

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Baer also noted that the frequency of leaks and level of information they reveal is unprecedented. “I have never seen it this bad in terms of leaks,” said Baer. “It’s not often I agree with Trump, but the fact is, when the NSA intercepted Flynn … that got out and that’s not supposed to happen … that’s classified, top-secret codeword” information.

“It’s a mess,” Baer continued. “Seriously, I have never seen it this bad. You cannot discuss national security in the open,” said Baer, before noting a contrast between the current administration and the Clinton White House.

“I was involved in the ’90s in a campaign finance scandal, where the Russians were trying to put money into the DNC,” Baer noted. “It failed, but it became public and the Clinton administration just closed it down.”

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Part of the problem, according to Baer, is that Trump doesn’t understand the nature of Washington.

“I distrust the federal government deeply, maybe as much as Trump does, probably more, but at least I know where its vulnerabilities are — I just don’t take it head-on,” Baer explained.

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“You’re gonna lose if you take on the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Security Agency directly, you just lose,” Baer said. “I myself call Washington, D.C. ‘Nigeria on the Potomac,’ but you’ve got to be very careful where you pick your battles.”

Of course, the White House’s inability to quash the story is not entirely the result of a hostile media and deep state machinations. Trump’s temper and defensiveness — not to mention his social media habits — are keeping the Russian conspiracy story alive despite the fact that “the FBI is saying internally there’s nothing there,” said Baer.

“Just take his phone away from him, at the very least.”