Donald Trump has become a pawn of Russian President Vladimir Putin, presenting 'dangers' to American national security that would only grow if he obtains the White House, a former CIA head says.

Career intelligence official Mike Morell, an agent under both Democratic and Republican president, said Friday in a New York Times op-ed that he is endorsing Hillary Clinton in the presidential race because she is 'highly qualified' and Trump is not.

Morell warned in the op-ed that Putin, an ex-spy who has been accused of killing and jailing journalists and political opponents, is manipulating Trump.

'In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.'

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Career intelligence official Mike Morell, an agent under both Democratic and Republican president, said Friday in a New York Times op-ed that he is endorsing Hillary Clinton in the presidential race because she is 'highly qualified' and Trump is not

Donald Trump has become a pawn of Russian President Vladimir Putin, presenting 'dangers' to American national security that would only grow if he obtains the White House, the former CIA head says

Putin began his flirtation with the Republican presidential candidate early on in the race, praising Trump to draw him in, Morell contends.

A career intelligence officer, the Russian leader is' trained to identify vulnerabilities in an individual and to exploit them,' the former CIA head said. 'Mr. Putin played upon Mr. Trump’s vulnerabilities by complimenting him. He responded just as Mr. Putin had calculated.'

Trump has responded in kind an called Putin a 'great leader' despite his violations of civil liberties and human rights, the incursion into Ukraine and a domestic policy that is driving Russia's 'economy to ruin,' Morell said.

'Mr. Trump has also taken policy positions consistent with Russian, not American, interests — endorsing Russian espionage against the United States, supporting Russia’s annexation of Crimea and giving a green light to a possible Russian invasion of the Baltic States,' he writes.

Already Trump is 'damaging our national security,' Morell argues, and not just because he's fraternizing with Putin.

'Mr. Trump has also undermined security with his call for barring Muslims from entering the country. This position, which so clearly contradicts the foundational values of our nation, plays into the hands of the jihadist narrative that our fight against terrorism is a war between religions.'

In taking a stand against Trump, Morell revealed that the CIA's Counterterrorism Center was directed for nearly a decade by a Muslim-American he is unable to name 'and who I believe is most responsible for keeping America safe since the Sept. 11 attacks. '

The 33-year veteran of the national intelligence agency was George W. Bush's briefer on September 11, 2001, when the Pentagon and World Trade Center were hit by hijacked planes.

He served as acting director of CIA twice, in 2011 and again in 2012. The first time Leon Panetta became secretary of defense. The second time Panetta's replacement David Petraeus resigned amid the airing of his dirty laundry. President Barack Obama appointed John Brennan to succeed Petraeus.

Morell served as acting director of the CIA twice for President Obama, in 2011 and again in 2012. Obama picked John Brennan, pictured, center, to be the permanent head of the agency the second time around. The first time, the job went to David Petraeus

Morell retired from government service in 2013. It is his first election as a private citizen.

'On Nov. 8, I will vote for Hillary Clinton. Between now and then, I will do everything I can to ensure that she is elected as our 45th president,' he said Friday.

In the Times op-ed Morell said he decided to endorse Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president, because he trusts 'she will deliver on the most important duty of a president — keeping our nation safe.'

'Donald J. Trump is not only unqualified for the job, but he may well pose a threat to our national security,' he wrote.

Morell worked with Clinton during the four years she served as secretary of state to President Barack Obama.

He recalled attending meetings in the Situation Room with her and said she was 'prepared, detail-oriented, thoughtful, inquisitive and willing to change her mind if presented with a compelling argument.'

'Mrs. Clinton was an early advocate of the raid that brought Bin Laden to justice, in opposition to some of her most important colleagues on the National Security Council,' he said. 'During the early debates about how we should respond to the Syrian civil war, she was a strong proponent of a more aggressive approach, one that might have prevented the Islamic State from gaining a foothold in Syria.'

In the Times op-ed Morell said he decided to endorse Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president, because he trusts 'she will deliver on the most important duty of a president — keeping our nation safe'

The retired spy chief said, 'I never saw her bring politics into the Situation Room. In fact, I saw the opposite. When some wanted to delay the Bin Laden raid by one day because the White House Correspondents Dinner might be disrupted, she said, “Screw the White House Correspondents Dinner.” '

'In sharp contrast to Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Trump has no experience on national security. Even more important, the character traits he has exhibited during the primary season suggest he would be a poor, even dangerous, commander in chief.'

'These traits include his obvious need for self-aggrandizement, his overreaction to perceived slights, his tendency to make decisions based on intuition, his refusal to change his views based on new information, his routine carelessness with the facts, his unwillingness to listen to others and his lack of respect for the rule of law. '

All of those things, he said, led him to conclude that 'our nation will be much safer with Hillary Clinton as president.'

We don't know why Trump and Putin praise each other so much and share many foreign policies.



We'll let you guess.https://t.co/N6ySNJ3zE5 — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 5, 2016

Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence responded to the op-ed on the Today show, telling host Savannah Guthrie that the billionaire businessman 'knows how to stand up and he knows how to stand strong.'

'I suppose this is the same CIA that told the president that ISIS was the JV team,' he said. 'I mean, come on Savannah, these people are playing politics. And I get all of that.'

Clinton's campaign subsequently posted a video to her Twitter account drudging up Trump's past statements about Putin, whom he invited last week to hack her emails.

Alongside the video was a statement that said: 'We don't know why Trump and Putin praise each other so much and share many foreign policies. We'll let you guess.'

Trump says he was only joking when he encouraged Russia to engage in espionage, but the comment did not play in the circumstances.

The Clinton campaign, national news outlets and even the White House were all suggesting the foreign government could be behind a hack on the Democratic National Committee's email system in a bid to influence the election.