Former special agent reveals to MSNBC how Trump is ruining efforts to fight MS-13 gang

Former FBI Special Agent Clint Watts said that President Donald Trump's attacks on the Department of Justice are hindering the federal government's ability to fight the MS-13 gang.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump reiterated his view that members of MS-13 are "animals" during a media event in New York.

"I think you're being kind," the acting director of ICE, Thomas Homan, told Trump. "Animals kill for survival. MS-13 kills for sport."

The White House has also been warning of the "animals" of the MS-13 gang.

Watts, the former FBI special agent, said the president's attacks on the Department of Justice were actually harming the administration's fight against MS-13.

"I think the biggest part is how can you as the FBI -- or really even the Department of Justice -- really enforce the law at this point?" he wondered.

"Imagine, the key aspects by which you do these investigations are through confidential informants or undercover agents or by going out and delivering subpoenas. So if you were in Trump country and trying to do the work of law enforcement and enforce these laws or go after MS-13, which the president was really playing up here an hour or so ago, how do you do that when you are being undercut by your own president?" he asked.

Watts is the author of the soon-to-be released book Messing with the Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians, and Fake News.

"It makes it very difficult, not just in terms of morale, but you are supposed to be cultivating trusted sources," he explained. "If you can't guarantee that a source is going to be protected against all political actors in Washington, D.C., you are in a very tough position and it makes it's hard to do your job."

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