Gingrich: Obama should testify before Congress in Russia probe

Newt Gingrich said Tuesday that lawmakers should call on former President Obama to testify before congressional committees investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

“Guess what’s about to happen, the Congress is about to have to call Barack Obama in to testify under oath about when he knew about Russia meddling,” the former GOP Speaker and ally of President Trump said on “Fox & Friends.”

“Who told him? Why did he do nothing? Who was in the meetings when he decided to do nothing? It’s going to turn out, yes, there’s a big Russian story. It’s Barack Obama, not Donald Trump. And you cannot make this stuff up.

“I think the Congress has an obligation to call him in,” Gingrich added.

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Gingrich’s comments came after a Washington Post report last week detailing Obama’s cautious and slow response to efforts by the Kremlin to politically damage Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and elect Trump.

According to the report, Obama was notified of the Russian hacking and influence campaign in August, but was wary to punish Moscow out of fear that any action by the White House could be perceived as interference in the presidential race.

That Clinton was widely expected by Democrats to win the November election also reportedly contributed to the Obama administration’s slow action.

In December, a month after Trump’s electoral victory, Obama approved targeted economic sanctions and expelled 35 Russian diplomats from the U.S.

The issue of Russia’s role in the election has cast a shadow over Trump’s first months in office, as a special counsel and multiple congressional committees investigate possible ties between his campaign and the Kremlin. 

Trump has frequently called the investigations a “witch hunt” and has denied any coordination between his campaign and Russian officials. 

In the days following the Post report, Trump has sought to place blame on Obama for Russia’s election meddling, saying that the “real story” is the former president’s lack of action on the matter.