Obama administration criticized in Senate for not doing more on meddling

WASHINGTON — The Republican and Democratic senators leading an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections joined in criticism of President Barack Obama’s administration for failing to do more to stop the meddling.

Republican Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr said at a hearing Wednesday that Obama administration officials have made clear they were operating “without a playbook” against a new threat with an undefined set of rules.

It was January 2017 before intelligence agencies went public with their key finding that Russia was trying to hurt Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and ultimately help Republican Donald Trump.

Sen. Mark Warner, the committee’s top Democrat, said the Obama administration was clearly caught “flat-footed” by the Russian effort, but he also faulted Trump and his campaign and congressional leaders for not forcefully resisting the Russian efforts.

“We should not have been surprised,” Warner said of the interference efforts, given Russia’s earlier efforts in Ukraine, and its use of leaks as a political weapon.

Amid deep partisan divisions over Russian meddling and whether anyone close to Trump colluded in it, the Senate Intelligence panel has maintained a bipartisan approach so far.