They 'should have done a lot more': Top Democrat blasts Obama administration for its handling of Russian election meddling
(Rep. Adam Schiff on CNN.CNN)
Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, criticized the Obama administration for its failure to take appropriate action after it learned Russia was meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
"The Obama administration should have done a lot more when it became clear that not only was Russia intervening, but it was being directed at the highest levels of the Kremlin," Schiff told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday.
Schiff's remarks came on the heels of an explosive Washington Post story detailing the Obama administration's struggle to hold Russia responsible for its actions.
According to The Post's report, former President Barack Obama received an intelligence report describing Russia's meddling months before the November election. However, he chose not to interfere because most of his administration believed then-candidate Hillary Clinton would win.
A senior administration official said of the decision: "It is the hardest thing about my entire time in government to defend. I feel like we sort of choked."
The Obama administration imposed sanctions in December on two Russian intelligence agencies over their alleged involvement in hacking political groups during the election, but Schiff said those sanctions were too little, too late.
Schiff and his Senate counterpart, Dianne Feinstein, issued an unusual public statement in September condemning Russia for the alleged hacks. "We had to vet that with the intelligence community, but we took that step because we weren't succeeding in getting the administration to do it itself," Schiff said on Sunday.
Obama also seized two Russian diplomatic facilities in New York and Maryland that could be used for espionage in the US in retaliation for Russia's interference. But recent reports have suggested that the Trump administration may be considering returning those facilities to the Russian government.
Schiff's criticism actually echoed President Donald Trump's remarks on Saturday.
"Since the Obama Administration was told way before the 2016 Election that the Russians were meddling, why no action?" Trump tweeted. "Focus on them, not T!"
The president followed up shortly after: "Obama Administration official said they 'choked' when it came to acting on Russian meddling of election. They didn't want to hurt Hillary?"
Trump's administration has yet to enact some of the harsher punishments the US government put in place under Obama, according to The Post report.
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