U.S. officials have told Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders that Russia is trying to help his campaign, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

Donald Trump and U.S. lawmakers have also been informed about the Russian assistance to Senator Sanders, said the Post, which cited unnamed people familiar with the matter.

The form that the Russian assistance had taken was not clear, the paper added.

Sanders, the Vermont senator, slammed the Russian president after news of the interference emerged, branding Vladimir Putin an 'autocratic thug' and a 'good friend' of Trump.

U.S. officials have told Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders that Russia is trying to help his campaign, the Washington Post reported on Friday

'I don't care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president,' Sanders said.

'My message to Putin is clear: stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do.'

He said that he was briefed about a month ago on the Russian interference.

Sanders continued: 'Unlike Donald Trump, I do not consider Vladimir Putin a good friend.

'He is an autocratic thug who is attempting to destroy democracy and crush dissent in Russia.'

He went on to condemn any form of interference in the American presidential election.

'Let´s be clear, the Russians want to undermine American democracy by dividing us up and, unlike the current president, I stand firmly against their efforts, and any other foreign power that wants to interfere in our election,' he said.

'The intelligence community is telling us Russia is interfering in this campaign right now in 2020.'

Earlier on Friday, Trump dismissed a report claiming his former acting Director of National Intelligence told Congress that Russia wanted him to win in November, claiming it was just another Democrat 'hoax'.

'Another misinformation campaign is being launched by Democrats in Congress saying that Russia prefers me to any of the Do Nothing Democrat candidates who still have been unable to, after two weeks, count their votes in Iowa. Hoax number 7!' Trump lamented on Twitter Friday morning.

The president's comments come after The New York Times published a report on Thursday claiming Acting DNI Joseph Maguire told Congress during a classified briefing that the Kremlin wanted to see Trump win reelection because it would be better for their interests.

Maguire was recently ousted from his acting post and U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell was appointed in his stead as Trump continues to search for a permanent director.

Russian president Vladimir Putin was described as an 'an autocratic thug who is attempting to destroy democracy and crush dissent' by Sanders when he was told of the reports

The committee members were briefed that Russia favors Trump and were told about its efforts to hack and attack election infrastructure and the Kremlin's continued attempts to use social media platforms in its campaign of distrust.

Vladimir Putin's operatives want to both help Trump and create public doubts about the outcome of the election, the officials briefed lawmakers during the session about 'the integrity of our upcoming elections.'

One lawmaker told the Daily Beast that the officials briefed them that: 'It continues with the same target, and the same purpose, and it's clear that they [the Russians] favor one candidate over the other.

Trump was furious when he learned that Representative Adam Schiff had been briefed that intelligence officials believe Russia is trying to aid his re-election - and wrongly believed it was only the Democrat who had been briefed.

Donald Trump said reports that an intelligence community aides warned Congress that Russia wants him to win reelection is a 'misinformation campaign' and another 'hoax' created by Democrats

The president believed the information would be used against him, sources told the New York Times.

Officials have said that Russian support for Sanders could be part of a wider plot to help Trump, according to the New York Times.

Sanders may be considered by Putin to be less likely to beat Trump in the November election than other more moderate Democratic nominees.

Russia dismissed claims it was meddling in the 2020 presidential race to help Trump win a second term.

Meddling? A senior intelligence official told the House Intelligence Committee, which is headed by Trump's impeachment rival Adam Schiff, that Vladimir Putin's Russia is interfering in the 2020 election to secure a second term for Donald Trump

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the denial at a press conference today where he labeled the claims 'paranoid announcements'.

'Unfortunately, there will be more and more of [them] as we get closer to the elections,' he said in Moscow.

'Of course, they have nothing to do with the truth.'