Obama urges Trump to take foreign election impact seriously
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WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama suggested strongly on Friday that Russia's Vladimir Putin knew about the email hackings that roiled the US presidential race, and he urged his successor, Republican Donald Trump, to back a bipartisan investigation into the matter.
"Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin," Obama said in his year-end news conference. The president said he had warned Putin there would be serious consequences it he did not "cut it out," though Obama did not specify the extent or timing of any US retaliation for the hacking, which many Democrats believe contributed to Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton.
Obama also expressed bewilderment over Republican lawmakers and voters alike who now say they approve of Putin, declaring, "Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave."
