ON POLITICS

President Trump hits Obama over response to Russia election meddling

WASHINGTON – President Trump attacked his predecessor Barack Obama on Monday over what he deemed a lackluster response to Russian interference in last year's presidential election.

In a series of tweets, Trump criticized Obama for allegedly doing "nothing" to stop the Russians from hacking Democrats close to candidate Hillary Clinton, while also defending himself against allegations that Trump campaign associates had links with Russia.

"The reason that President Obama did NOTHING about Russia after being notified by the CIA of meddling is that he expected Clinton would win," Trump tweeted. 

Obama avoided the issue, Trump claimed in a separate tweet, because he "did not want to 'rock the boat.' He didn't 'choke,' he colluded or obstructed, and it did the Dems and Crooked Hillary no good."

It's worth noting that Russia was indeed a hot topic of conversation before Trump's election victory.

While Obama administration officials have said they wanted to be careful with their public comments because they did not want to be seen as interfering with the election themselves, they opened an investigation into Russia activities in the middle of the election year, encouraged state election officials to tighten their digital security, and issued public statements accusing Russia of organized hacking in the middle of the fall campaign. 

In the heat of the campaign in October 2016, Obama's department of Homeland Security and the office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a joint statement saying the intelligence community was confident that the Russian government directed the compromise and public disclosure of e-mails from political organizations. Russia hacking also surfaced during debates between Trump and Clinton.

What's more, after the election, the Obama administration in December sanctioned Russian intelligence agencies and senior officials, kicked out 35 Russian officials from the U.S., and closed down two diplomatic compounds it said were being used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes. 

Trump's new attacks on Obama, including tweets over the weekend, are also acknowledgments that Russia did indeed seek to interfere in the election – something the president has been loathe to admit since winning the election – though he has not yet himself publicly condemned Russia or its election meddling. 

There was Russia news that became public after Trump's victory, however: Now-fired FBI Director James Comey in March revealed the FBI was investigating Moscow's election activity, including possible links between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials. That probe is still ongoing, led by special counsel Robert Mueller, and multiple congressional committees are also investigating. 

Trump has also condemned the various investigations as a "witch hunt," and he continued to attack them in his Monday morning tweet storm.

"The real story is that President Obama did NOTHING after being informed in August about Russian meddling," he said.

In a pair of posts, Trump said: "With 4 months looking at Russia ... under a magnifying glass, they have zero 'tapes' of T people colluding. There is no collusion & no obstruction. I should be given apology!"

Ned Price, former spokesman for Obama's National Security Council, said Trump's latest tweets were "nonsensical" blame-shifting.

"He’s attempting to pin on the Obama administration the very serious charges—namely collusion and obstruction—that federal investigators are examining in the context of his behavior and that of his associates," Price said. "This 'I’m-not-you-are' strategy tends to be a hallmark of elementary school, not presidential strategy." 

In addition to Russia, Trump has criticized Obama over the health care debate, and accused his predecessor – without evidence – of having him placed under surveillance during the election. The president has also sought to undo a litany of Obama policies, from business regulations to the Paris climate change agreement.