President Trump accused former President Barack Obama Sunday of playing politics with Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential race, saying Mr. Obama didn’t stop Moscow’s interference because he expected Hillary Clinton to win anyway.
“Why didn’t President Obama do something about the so-called Russian Meddling when he was told about it by the FBI before the Election?” Mr. Trump tweeted. “Because he thought Crooked Hillary was going to win, and he didn’t want to upset the apple cart! He was in charge, not me, and did nothing.”
Mr. Obama reportedly was briefed as early as August 2016 that Russian President Vladimir Putin was responsible for hacking in the election. At a summit in China in September, Mr. Obama told Mr. Putin to “cut it out.” In October, the Obama administration issued a public statement that U.S. intelligence agencies were “confident” that Russia directed hacking of emails and other documents of U.S. political organizations.
After Mr. Trump’s victory, Mr. Obama in December 2016 approved modest sanctions against Russia, including the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats from the U.S.
Special counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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