Ex-FBI special agent turned GOP Congressman ‘frankly sickened’ by Helsinki: Trump ‘was manipulated by Vladimir Putin’

Republican congressman and former FBI agent Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) on Sunday warned Donald Trump “was manipulated by Vladimir Putin,” telling NPR’s Michael Martin he was “frankly sickened by the exchange.”

Speaking on All Things Considered, Fitzpatrick—who sits on the House committee on Foreign Affairs and the House committee on Homeland Security—explained that during his time as an FBI special agent, he worked on counterintelligence and collected Russian propaganda reports, according to NPR.

Fitzpatrick called the Russian president “a master manipulator.” He also said it’s clear the White House is lacking in urgency when it comes to addressing the Russia threat.

"It needs to be accepted as fact by everybody in our government because we need to respond to that reality and it's a significant threat,” Fitzpatrick said. “We cannot let that happen again.”

Fitzpatrick’s declaration came two days after Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) said Trump "actively participated in a Russian disinformation campaign."