Barack Obama received 'intelligence bombshell' on Russian hacking plans

Washington Post investigation into Russian interventions during the US election campaign is critical of Obama's lack of response to threat

Barack Obama received an “intelligence bombshell” from the CIA to warn him of a hacking campaign led by Vladimir Putin to help Donald Trump win the US election, it has been reported.

The Russian president had given specific instructions on the operation’s objectives to defeat Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton, and help get her opponent elected, the Washington Post revealed in a special report.

Citing interviews with current and former senior US officials, the newspaper detailed how the Obama administration allegedly considered retaliating against Putin by releasing intelligence on him, and planting “cyber weapons” in Russia’s

infrastructure to destroy its economy.They chose not to go ahead, however, opting for a more “modest package” to punish Russia for other issues with economic sanctions.

President Trump tweeted earlier this week: “By the way, if Russia was working so hard on the 2016 election, it all took place during the Obama admin. Why didn’t they stop them?”

The FBI opened its investigation into Russia’s involvement with the Trump campaign in July 2016.

According to the Washington Post, an envelope with “eyes only” instructions were sent from the CIA to the White House one month later.

“Inside was an intelligence bombshell, a report drawn from sourcing deep inside the Russian government that detailed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s direct involvement in a cyber campaign to disrupt and discredit the US presidential race,” the paper says.

The CIA gave instructions for the package to be returned immediately after reading, and meetings in the situation room followed the same protocols as planning sessions for the raid that killed Osama bin Laden to avoid leaks.