Veteran journalist Carl Bernstein questioned on Sunday if President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE’s actions are leading the country toward authoritarianism.

Bernstein, known for his work helping to expose the Watergate scandal that ultimately led to former President Nixon's resignation, said Trump's actions, particularly in relation to special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE’s investigation, were troublesome.

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“I think we can look at a big picture now with some real definition, in which the perilous moment for our country right now, and it's a question of whether lies, authoritarianism and the character of the president of the United States are going to take us to an authoritarian place where we have never been in, which he will bury a duly constituted and legal investigation that will determine whether or not the president is above the rule of law,” Bernstein told CNN’s “Reliable Sources.”

Why is Trump afraid of Mueller? @carlbernstein says "he knows that Mueller has the ability and the facts to reveal him, Donald Trump, in a really terrible light." https://t.co/lZSKKGQbK0 — Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) May 27, 2018

Bernstein said Trump is attempting to discredit the special counsel's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election because he knows Mueller could make him look bad with unflattering things the probe may uncover.

“The reason he wants to bury, demean, undermine and put this investigation out of business for all time is he knows Mueller has the ability and the facts to reveal him, Donald Trump, in a really terrible light,” Bernstein said.

“Whether it is criminal behavior or not, Mueller has enough to show Donald Trump and his lies in a way that definitively the American people, including a lot of Fox viewers, perhaps may be convinced that we are seeing a false narrative by the United States in which, well, maybe there is collusion,” Bernstein added.

Earlier this month, Bernstein said the goal of Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani is to “throw bombs” into Mueller’s investigation.

Trump has denied any collusion with the Russians and has often attacked Mueller’s probe, frequently characterizing it as a “witch hunt.”