David Jackson

USA TODAY

As President-elect Donald Trump clashes with the intelligence community over Russian hacking, he lost one of his intelligence advisers.

Of course, former CIA Director R. James Woolsey said he never really got to advise the president-elect.

“I was not really called upon to go to meetings or participate in work on the transition," Woolsey told Fox News.

Jonathan Sparks, a Woolsey spokesman, released a statement that said the former CIA chief wished Trump the best of luck as president.

Woolsey led the CIA during the first two years of the Clinton administration in 1993-1995.

Critics noted that Woolsey, in contrast to Trump, said he does believe that Russia tried to influence the election through the hacking of Democratic officials.

In television interviews, Woolsey downplayed reports of friction within the Trump team, and said he wants to be seen as an independent analyst moving forward.

"I didn't want to fly under false colors," Woolsey said. "I'm not really functioning as an adviser anymore, and so when I'm on the screen, everybody announces that I'm former CIA director and that I'm a Trump adviser. And I'm really not anymore."

He joined the Trump campaign in September and criticized Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Woolsey complained about having little to no access to the president during his time at the head of the agency, according to The Wall Street Journal.

He said he has been a "'Scoop Jackson,' 'Joe Lieberman', Democrat all of my adult life," but he cited Trump's "commitment to reversing the harmful defense budget cuts signed into law by the current administration" as a reason he is supporting the Republican nominee.

"Mr. Trump understands the magnitude of the threats we face and is holding his cards close to the vest," Woolsey said.

Contributing: William Cummings

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