Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said our institutions of government were “under assault” by President Donald Trump.

Partial transcript as follows:

TAPPER: Let’s take a wider view of this for one second and then get back to more detailed questions. This week with the president firing the FBI director while this investigation is going on, and then saying that he was thinking about the Russia probe when he was making the decision, have we crossed a line here? well,

CLAPPER: Well, I will just say that the developments of the past week very bothersome, very disturbing to me. I think in many ways, our institutions are under assault both externally and that’s the big news here, is the Russian interference in our election system. And I think as well our institutions are under assault internally.

TAPPER: Internally from the president? exactly.

CLAPPER: Exactly.

TAPPER: Because he’s firing the checks and balances?

CLAPPER: Well I think you know, the founding fathers a system of three coequal branches of government, and a built-in system of checks and balances, and I feel as though that’s under assault and is eroding.