Trump says Obama 'did nothing when he knew Russia was interfering in the US election'

President Donald Trump accused his predecessor Barack Obama of "doing nothing" when it was reported that Russia interfered in the US election.

President Trump answers Fox & Friends Weekend. Video: Fox News.

"I just heard that (former President) Barack Obama knew about Russia long before the election and he did nothing," US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News' "Fox & Friends Weekend," scheduled to air this morning. "The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) informed him... If he had the information, why didn't he do anything?"

The comments came shortly after the Washington Post published an article on June 23 that said sources had told Obama that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "directly involved in a campaign to interfere in the US election to help Trump gain an advantage over his opponent Hillary Clinton."

Obama secretly discussed dozens of options for punishing Russia but ended up expelling only 35 Russian diplomats in December 2016, long after the US presidential election ended.

Tony Blinken, Obama's former deputy national security adviser, said the Obama administration took action to stop Russia from interfering in the US election. "We made a huge effort to stop them," Blinken told CNN. "Obama warned Putin in September at the G20 in China and it seemed like Russia stopped, but by then the damage had already been done."

Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger said he was not shocked by the Washington Post report.

“I think President Trump was legitimately elected by his supporters. However, protecting our democracy, our country, and the integrity of our electoral system is very important,” Kinzinger said. He called on Congress to work with the White House to counter “Russian disinformation.”

US investigators are looking into allegations of Russian interference in the US election and Trump aides' links to Moscow. Russia denies the allegations. Meanwhile, President Trump has described the investigations as a "witch hunt".

According to VNE