Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said the FBI has used proper methods in its ongoing probe of potential Russian links to the Trump campaign, a rebuke to President Donald Trump's recent rhetoric that a "spy" had been embedded in his campaign "for political purposes."

Gowdy, who is chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and a leading player on the House Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday night that his view of the FBI was only strengthened after a briefing on Thursday with intelligence officials.

"I am even more convinced that the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do," Gowdy said in a Fox News interview. "It has nothing to do with Donald Trump."

Gowdy was among the congressional Republicans invited to a briefing last week with Justice Department and intelligence community officials to discuss the FBI's use of the alleged informant. After being criticized for initially scheduling a single meeting without any Democrats present, the White House added another briefing that included members of the opposition party.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that a spy was placed in his campaign for "political purposes," an accusation for which no evidence is publicly available.

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Gowdy said the context for Trump's frustration is understandable, citing former Obama officials and Democrats in Congress whom he described as having beat the drums of collusion and impeachment for months. Gowdy made his name by targeting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in his role as one of the chief investigators in the probe over the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on U.S. officials in Benghazi, Libya.