Obama pledges retaliation over alleged Russian hacking of US election

Barack Obama has said the US will take action against Russia after the White House accused Vladimir Putin of direct involvement in cyberattacks designed to influence the outcome of the US election.

President Obama said America would respond at a "time and place of our choosing", some of which might be publicised and some not.

Whenever a foreign government tried to interfere in US elections, the nation must take action - "and we will", Mr Obama told NPR News.

"Some of it may be explicit and publicised, some of it may not be," he said. "But Mr Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it."

On Thursday the Obama administration suggested President Putin personally authorised the hacking of Democratic officials' email accounts in the run-up to the election and said it was "fact" that such actions helped Donald Trump's campaign.

The information on Mr Putin's alleged involvement reportedly came from spies and diplomatic sources.

Russia has denied state-sponsored hacking to tip the balance towards Mr Trump, who is seen as more pro-Russia than Hillary Clinton.

Mr Putin's spokesman dismissed the latest claims as "laughable nonsense".

In October, the US government formally accused Russia of cyberattacks and President Obama last week ordered a review by intelligence agencies, set to be completed before he leaves office on 20 January. 

The Washington Post reported thatthe CIA believes individuals linked to Moscow fed WikiLeaks emails from Mrs Clinton's campaign chief and the Democratic National Committee.

Those emails were steadily released in the months before the election and damaged Mrs Clinton's campaign.

Mr Trump has called the claims "ridiculous" but Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said it was "obvious" Mr Trump knew he was being helped by the Russians.

Top Obama adviser Ben Rhodes also waded in, telling MSNBC: "I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it. 

"Everything we know about how Russia operates and how Putin controls that government would suggest that, again, when you're talking about a significant cyber intrusion like this, we're talking about the highest levels of government."

It is the first time officials have publicly pointed the finger at Mr Putin and it will only ramp up tensions between the Russians and President Obama's outgoing administration.