Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich predicted Tuesday that Congress will summon former President Barack Obama to testify about how he handled Russia’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

“The Congress is about to have to call Barack Obama in to testify under oath about when he knew about Russia meddling,” Mr. Gingrich said on “Fox and Friends.” “Absolutely, he’s got to come in and testify.”

Mr. Gingrich, a close ally of President Trump, said recent revelations in the media should prompt lawmakers to require Mr. Obama to explain why he didn’t take more aggressive action against Moscow.

“How can you be told the president of the U.S. knew last August the Russians were, in fact, involved in this and not ask him and ask him under oath? I mean, how can you be so irresponsible?” Mr. Gingrich said. “The House and Senate are going to have to call Obama in and say, ‘Who told you?’ ‘When did you have the meetings?’ ‘Who advised you?’ ‘Why did you not decide to do anything?’”

He said lawmakers also should ask Mr. Obama, “Why did you keep quiet for six months while everybody looked at the Russians and Trump when you, in fact, had this information last August?’”

On Monday, Mr. Trump tweeted that Mr. Obama “colluded” with Russia or “obstructed” a federal investigation into Moscow’s alleged hacking of the U.S. election. Mr. Obama and his advisers learned of the Russian meddling last August but didn’t reveal it publicly until October.

Former Obama advisers rejected Mr. Trump’s accusations, saying Mr. Obama didn’t want his administration to interfere with the election and that he eventually took steps to punish Russia after Election Day.

“There is a big Russia story, and it is Barack Obama, not Donald Trump,” Mr. Gingrich said.

A special counsel and Congress are investigating whether Trump campaign officials may have colluded with Russia to undermine Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.