FBI director James Comey wanted to go public with information about Russia's interference in the 2016 election as early as last summer but was reportedly barred from doing so by the Obama administration.

According to Newsweek sources, Comey presented a draft op-ed to top administration officials during a White House meeting in June or July.

'He had a draft of it or an outline,' the source said. 'He held up a piece of paper in a meeting and said, 'I want to go forward, what do people think of this?''

FBI director James Comey wanted to go public with information about Russia's interference in the election last summer but was reportedly barred by the Obama administration

Former Secretary of State John Kerry, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and ex national security adviser Susan Rice were among those in the meeting.

Comey's idea was rejected because White House officials thought the message would have more impact coming from multiple agencies and not just him.

'An op-ed doesn't have the same stature, it comes from one person,' the source said.

A second source told Newsweek the op-ed, which Comey would have likely sought to publish in the New York Times, contained the same information as the intelligence report made public on January 6 that said Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to influence the presidential election.

Comey presented a draft op-ed to top Obama administration officials during a White House meeting in June or July but it was rejected, according to Newsweek sources

Comey's op-ed was rejected around the same time he publicly revealed details about the investigation in Hillary Clinton's emails.

The FBI director revealed before the House Intelligence Committee last week that the agency is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

He told the Intelligence Committee the Russians were 'very noisy' and 'unusually loud' in their hacking of US Democratic party computers.

'It was almost as if they didn't care if we found out,' he added.

He said the FBI is looking at possible links and coordination between President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and the Russians. The investigation includes an assessment of potential crimes that were committed.

Because the investigation is ongoing, and it deals with classified information, Comey said he could not share additional details about who the target of the probe is and what conduct is under scrutiny in a public setting.

In July last year Comey told Congress under oath that Clinton was reckless in her use of a private email server and careless in her handling of information but had not committed a criminal act.

Comey revealed last week that the FBI is looking at possible links and coordination between President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and the Russians

On 28 October Comey alerted members of Congress that more of Clinton's State Department emails had been found, heightening speculation she could still be charged with mishandling classified materials.

The emails were found on a laptop handed over to authorities by Anthony Weiner - former partner of Clinton adviser Huma Abedin - who was being investigated for a separate matter.

Then, days before the election Comey said the FBI had decided the new batch of emails 'had not changed our conclusion' that she had not committed any criminal wrongdoing.

But Trump and his supporters raised the email issue repeatedly throughout the campaign and it is thought to have had a negative effect on Clinton's trustworthiness among voters.