Retired United States Army lieutenant colonel and former Fox News analyst Ralph Peters ripped Fox News as a “destructive propaganda machine.” Speaking with Anderson Cooper on Wednesday, Peters noted that the network he was once proud to be associated with now does a “great deal of damage.” He added: “With the rise of Donald Trump, Fox did become a destructive propaganda machine.” Then after noting that the primetime hosts are “attacking the rule of order” and “the rule of law,” he insisted “they are doing it for ratings and profit…Knowingly in my view doing a grave, grave disserve to our country.” Cooper then asked the self-avowed conservative if the Fox News hosts actually believed in the Deep State they so often rail about on their shows. “I suspect Sean Hannity really believes it, the others are smarter, they know what they are doing.” He then said after hearing their talk, “I wanted to cry out and say how can you do this? How can you lie to our country? How can you knowingly attack our Constitution, the bedrock of our system of government, the bedrock of our country..And when you go after the Constitution, you best beware because you are doing a phenomenal, indeed measurable damage.” When Peters quit Fox News earlier this year with an explosive email calling it out for coverage of the Trump administration, the network fired back in a statement accusing the former analyst of attention seeking. Watch above, via CNN. [image via screengrab] Have a tip we should know? [email protected]<doc-sep>Retired Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, a former Fox News analyst who left the network amid claims of pro-Trump bias, said late Wednesday that he believes President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE is hesitant to take a hard stance against Russia because Russian President Vladimir Putin "has some grip" on the U.S. leader. "When I first learned of the Steele dossier, it just rang true to me, because that’s how the Russians do things. And before he became a candidate or president, Donald Trump was the perfect target for Russian intelligence," Peters said on CNN, referring to a dossier of salacious allegations about the president's ties to Russia. "Here is someone who has no self-control, a sense of sexual entitlement and intermittent financial crisis," he continued. "I mean, that’s made-to-order for seduction by Russian intelligence." ADVERTISEMENT Republicans and Trump have frequently targeted the so-called Steele dossier for its roots as an opposition research document that was funded partly by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonHillary Clinton takes on conspiracy theories on Borat special Top general: Russia, China will look to expand influence in Middle East as US pulls back We have a chance to halt climate change if we stop destroying carbon sinks and cut methane MORE's campaign. Some of the claims contained in the dossier are still unproven. Despite his suspicions, Peters said he hopes he's wrong about Russia's hold on Trump. "I hope I am wrong. But when you look at Trump's behavior patterns, his unwillingness ever to criticize Vladimir Putin, his slow-rolling sanctions, his unwillingness to create problems with Russia, even though as he attacks NATO, disrupts the relations with the EU, how can you not draw the conclusions that Donald Trump, the president of the United States, is frightened of Vladimir Putin and his grip," Peters said. Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters: Vladimir Putin has a grip on President Trump https://t.co/e4l4s2P7oX pic.twitter.com/0qfbdELjzr — Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) June 7, 2018 The former Fox News analyst also took a swipe at his former network, saying it has become a "destructive propaganda machine" in the Trump era. Peters has repeatedly criticized his former employer for the attacks of some of its hosts on the Justice Department and FBI. He argued that commentators making such claims are doing so "for ratings and profit." Fox News said at the time of Peters's firing that he was using his opinion "as a weapon in order to gain attention." Peters was suspended from the network in 2015 for profanely criticizing then-President Obama.<doc-sep>
Ret. Lt. Col. Ralph Peters isn’t done taking his former employer to task. A few months after he quit his position as military analyst at Fox News in dramatic fashion—calling the network a “propaganda machine”—he appeared on CNN with Anderson Cooper on Wednesday night and went even further in his condemnation. While President Donald Trump has claimed that special counsel Robert Mueller is leading a “witch hunt” against him, Peters argued on CNN that it is Fox News that is promoting a witch hunt against Mueller. “For years, I was glad to be associated with Fox. It was a legitimate conservative and libertarian outlet. And a necessary one,” Peters told Cooper. “But with the rise of Donald Trump, Fox did become a destructive propaganda machine. And I don’t do propaganda for anyone.” Peters went on to say he believes the network in general and “particularly the prime time hosts” are attacking “our constitutional order, the rule of law, the Justice Department, the FBI, Robert Mueller,” and other intelligence agencies. “And they are doing it for ratings and profit,” he added. “And they’re doing it knowingly, and, in my view, doing a great, grave disservice to our country.” Asked by Cooper if the prime-time hosts actually believe their own conspiracy theories about the “deep state,” Peters singled out Trump’s most loyal Fox News servant. “I suspect Sean Hannity really believes it,” he said. “The others are smarter, they know what they’re doing." “I want to cry out and say, ‘How can you do this? How can you lie to our country? How can you knowingly attack our Constitution, the bedrock of our system of government, the bedrock of our country?’” Peters said. “And when you go after the Constitution, you best beware, because you are doing a phenomenal, indeed immeasurable damage.”