Giuliani: Obama ‘petty’ and ‘incompetent’ on Russia

Rudy Giuliani says President Obama’s retaliation against Russia’s interference in the 2016 White House race is a trivial move aimed at cornering President-elect Donald Trump.

“Now, after 18 months of this hacking, he does something about it,” the former New York City mayor and longtime Trump supporter said Friday on Fox News’s “Fox and Friends.” “Why didn’t he do something about it 18 months ago? It wouldn’t have happened.”

“It’s a much bigger picture,” Giuliani added of responding to Russia. “That’s why petty little actions like this don’t mean very much.”

The Obama administration on Thursday announced an array of retaliatory measures against Russia for hacking the Democratic National Committee and other groups. The measures included a slate of economic sanctions, diplomatic censure, public “naming and shaming,” and the possibility of covert cyber actions.

Obama also announced the State Department will expel 35 Russian intelligence operatives and shutter two Russian compounds, in Maryland and New York, used by Russia for intelligence purposes.

{mosads}“It’s almost a mockery to say this is too little, too late,” Giuliani said. “It should have been done 10 months ago, 11 months ago, 12 months ago. If this is really true, the response should have been much stronger.”

Giuliani, a frequent Trump surrogate, added the president-elect should reassess the FBI and CIA conclusions about Russia’s election meddling.

“Here’s what you do — you get your own people to review it,” he said.

“There’s no question that the intelligence that President Obama has been getting is either incompetent or politicized. This is the guy who thought Russia wasn’t a threat just four years ago.”