Story highlights She says usually sanctions remain in place until the activity that caused the sanctions is removed

Trump said that Americans should "get on with our lives" when asked about possible Russian sanctions

Washington (CNN) A top aide to President-elect Donald Trump speculated Thursday that the Obama administration's sanctions against Russia for its alleged interference in the 2016 election may have been aimed at restricting Trump's policy toward Russia.

Kellyanne Conway, who managed Trump's campaign and will serve as a counselor to him in the White House, cited a New York Times article saying President Barack Obama was trying to "box-in" his successor by issuing the sanctions with just weeks left in his presidency.

"I will tell you that even those who are sympathetic to President Obama on most issues are saying that part of the reason he did this today was to quote 'box in' President-elect Trump," Conway told CNN's Kate Bolduan on "OutFront." "That would be very unfortunate if politics were the motivating factor here. We can't help but think that's often true."

She added: "That is not the way that peaceful exchanges work in this democracy."

Moreover, the Trump confidant painted the focus on Russia's potential involvement in Democratic Party hacking as something of a distraction.

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