Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday condemned Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election that targeted Hillary Clinton, hours after suggesting her campaign could have done more to make the public aware of Russian bot tactics.

"No candidate, whether Secretary Clinton or anyone else, should have to wage an electoral contest in the face of foreign government intervention," Sanders said in a statement.

"As someone who campaigned hard for Secretary Clinton from one end of this country to another, it is an outrage that she had to run against not only Donald Trump but also the Russian government. All Americans rightly expected and deserved a fair election free of foreign government intervention," he added.

In an interview published earlier Tuesday with Vermont Public Radio, Sanders was asked why he did not warn his supporters leading up to the 2016 presidential election that Russian bots were attempting to sow division between him and Clinton by attacking Clinton on pro-Sanders social media forums.

Sanders said a member of his team spoke with the Clinton campaign in September 2016 to warn them of "strange things happening" on social media, but suggested his opponent's campaign had more information about the nature of the attacks.

The "real question," Sanders said, was why the Clinton campaign didn't do something.

The Justice Department last week announced charges against 13 Russian nationals and three Russian groups for allegedly interfering in the 2016 race. The charges allege that Sanders was one of the candidates that Russians sought to support through their efforts.

Following the indictment, Sanders has lashed out at President Trump for failing to properly acknowledge Russia's meddling or to take action to protect against future interference.