Washington CNN  — 

Republican Sen. Bob Corker continued his criticism of President Donald Trump on Friday, saying Trump is pressuring the Justice Department to “pursue cases against his adversaries and calling for punishment before trials take place.”

“Like me, most Americans hope that our justice system is independent and free of political interference,” Corker said in a statement Friday afternoon. “President Trump’s pressuring of the Justice Department and FBI to pursue cases against his adversaries and calling for punishment before trials take place are totally inappropriate and not only undermine our justice system but erode the American people’s confidence in our institutions.”

It is the third time in recent weeks Corker has been highly critical of the President. The Tennessee Republican announced in September that he’s not running for re-election.

Trump has repeatedly in the past 24 hours criticized the Justice Department, including in a radio interview where the President described himself as “unhappy” with the department. On Friday morning, Trump told reporters that Justice should be investigating Democrats.

CNN’s Manu Raju and Dan Merica contributed to this report.