Washington, Sep 11 (IANS): Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has said the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election is "a waste of time", the media reported.

"There's nothing to the Russia investigation. It's a waste of time. It's a total and complete farce," Bannon said in an interview on Sunday night.

"Russian collusion is a farce," CNN quoted Bannon as saying.

When asked on whether he believed Russia tried to damage Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and sway the election in President Donald Trump's favour, Bannon said that he has seen the intelligence reports about Russia.

"I would never devolve classified information... But let me tell you, I think it's far from conclusive that the Russians had any impact on this election."

Asked why the President seems to find it hard to criticise the Russians, Bannon disagreed with the characterisation, CNN reported.

"He criticises the Russians all the time," Bannon said, adding "He knows the Russians are not good guys. We should be focused on how we bring the Cold War to an end."

The former White House official also slammed national security officials in the previous George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations who denounced Trump as President.

"This is once again where the narrative is dead wrong," Bannon said, adding that it was the "geniuses" of the Bush administration that helped cause the trade imbalance with China and the US involvement in Iraq.

"They're idiots, and they've gotten us in this situation, and they question a good man like Donald Trump."

Bannon was ousted in mid-August amid a reshuffling of power within the White House.

He has since returned to his role as executive chairman at Breitbart News, a position he held before joining Trump's campaign.