Obama declares 35 Russian intelligence operatives 'persona non grata' in a Cold War measure
He also closed two 'compounds' - one in New York, the other in Maryland - saying they were used for intelligence purposes by the Russians
Economic sanctions are being put in place on Putin's spy agencies, the FSB and the GRU, as well as named officers and companies they are said to have used
President acted after accusing Russia of orchestrating hacking in run-up to the presidential election, which saw Democratic secrets published
Trump says it is 'time for our country to move on to bigger and better things' - but WILL meet intelligence bosses next week for update
Hillary Clinton has blamed Vladimir Putin's 'personal beef' against her for the hacking of her operatives and the publication of embarrassing secrets
Kremlin calls claims of hacking 'lies' and says there will be an 'appropriate' response - and its London embassy tweeted a duck with caption 'lame'
President Obama launched a Cold War strike on the Kremlin and its spies on Thursday, accusing them of hacking the presidential election on orders from Vladimir Putin.
He ordered 35 Russian intelligence operatives to leave the country as part of sanctions ordered for what he said where the country's attempts to 'interfere with democratic governance' and harassment of U.S. diplomatic officials in Russia.
And he launched a scathing attack on Putin's Kremlin in an official announcement of sanctions over allegations of hacking in the run-up to the presidential elections.
Obama all but named the Russian strongman in his statement - saying hacking was 'ordered at the highest level'.
That prompted an angry response from the Kremlin which promised an 'appropriate' retaliation - while its London embassy tweeted a picture mocking him as a 'lame duck'.
'Lies': A spokesman for Vladimir Putin rejected claims of cyber-attacking the election and said the U.S. government must put up or shut up
Crisis: Donald Trump now enters office amid the worst relations with Russia since the 1980s and his defeated rival Hillary Clinton claiming that its leader personally targeted her to hand the election to the Republican
If Putin really was so petty minded as to involve himself in the US election - he would have made certain ALL Clintons nasty secrets came to light so far in advance that Clinton would NOT have even been allowed to take part in the elections
Donald Trump took four hours to react - and did not say if he had been briefed in advance.
'It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things,' he said in a statement.
'Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation.'
The sanctions came after the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton's secrets were published, mostly by Wikileaks, in a series of releases before Hillary Clinton's election defeat.
The White House says Russia hacked the emails, and Clinton has claimed Putin acted out because of a 'personal beef.'
Wikileaks has denied Moscow was the source.
'This is not in question. There's no debate within the U.S. administration about the fact,' a senior U.S. official said Thursday, 'that Russia interfered in our democratic election. We've established that clearly to our satisfaction.
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