President Donald Trump cited a news report in a tweet on Tuesday that said former President Barack Obama was aware of "Russian interference" several years ago.
The president was apparently referring to a Politico report published Monday that said national security officials had warned the Obama administration several times between 2014 and 2016 about the Kremlin's desire to disrupt the U.S. political system.
"Even if the Russians and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin had these ambitions, they were doubtful of their capacity to execute them," an Obama administration official told Politico.
However, the Politico article also quoted former National Security Council spokesman Ned Price, who said the Obama administration did take the warnings seriously.
"The Obama administration was nothing but proactive in responding to Russian aggression in all of its forms, especially as Moscow became more brazen with and following its military moves against Ukraine beginning in 2014," Price said.
He cited as evidence of Obama's seriousness, sanctions that were imposed against Russia and increased American support to NATO.
Trump has repeatedly called the Russia probe a "witch hunt," and has previously criticized Obama for not doing enough before the 2016 election to counter the Russian interference, according to The Hill.
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