Obama’s response to Russia necessary, given Trump’s ‘dismissive’ behavior, former US ambassador says (Source CNBC)

President Barack Obama’s decision to expel 35 Russian diplomats and impose new sanctions on Moscow was necessary, given President-elect Donald Trump’s “dismissive” comments about hacking reports, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia said Friday.

“I think most importantly what the Obama administration did yesterday was to assign direct attribution with overwhelming evidence with who interfered in our election process,” Michael McFaul said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Obama announced the sanctions on Thursday, citing Russia’s alleged involvement in hacking political groups in the 2016 presidential election. In a statement, Trump said, “It’s time for our country to move on to bigger and better things.”

“I thought it was necessary,” McFaul said, referring to Obama’s actions. “Especially given that the next president, President-elect Trump, has been so dismissive of the intelligence.”