Guccifer, the hacker who exposed Hillary Clinton's use of private email, has downplayed the White House's claims that Russia tried to control the election using hackers, calling them 'a fake cyber war'.

The hacker - real name Marcel Lazar Lehel - spoke toFox News from his jail cell in his home country of Romania, where he is serving time for illegally breaking into the email accounts of high-profile targets.

'Americans are crazy about the Russian thing and that Russians are invading the United States,' he said of the Russian hacking claims. 'It's crazy ... it's this hysteria you know?'

'Crazy': Romanian hacker Marcel Lazar Lehel, aka Guccifer (pictured being arrested in Romania in 2014) has told Fox News that claims Russia tried to influence the election are 'crazy'

'Fake': The hacker, who is in a Romanian prison, said that Obama created a 'fake cyber war'. He says Vladimir Putin didn't try to aid Donald Trump by hacking the DNC or a Clinton's aide

The Obama administration has accused Russia of involvement in the hacking of email accounts belonging to the Democratic National Convention and Clinton campaign chair John Podesta.

Those hacks led to the reopening of an FBI probe into Hillary Clinton's email server - something that Obama and other Democrats say was a successful attempt to hand Donald Trump the election.

Trump had presented a much more Russia-friendly face during the election debates, while Clinton had mocked him for being a 'puppet' for Vladimir Putin.

In phone calls from his prison cell near Arad in Romania, Lehel predicted to Fox that there would 'be probes and indictments against some Russian people'.

He made that prediction three weeks ago - and two weeks before Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats last Thursday, in retaliation for the hacks.

Also today, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told Fox News that John Podesta's email password was 'password' and that 'a 14-year-old' could have hacked in.

Donald Trump seized on that claim, boasting about it on Twitter.

But Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan later fired back, saying on the Hugh Hewitt radio show that Assange 'is a sycophant for Russia. He leaks, he steals data and compromises national security.'

Private information: Lehel uncovered Hillary Clinton's private server in 2013, when he hacked the email of a former aide to Bill Clinton. In 2019 he is expected to begin a US prison sentence

In 2013 Lehel hacked into the email account of an ex-Bill Clinton aide and revealed for the first time the existence of the @clintonemail.com private email address.

He was motivated by an irritation with those in charge of both Romania and the US.

Lehel was unemployed when he made the now infamous hacks, which he mostly executed with no particular knowledge, by guessing people's passwords from publicly available information about their private lives.

He used a proxy server to make his computer look like it was being used in Russia - even though he did most of his work from a small Romanian village.

He is currently serving a stint in Romanian prison, for hacking politicians and celebrities in his home country.