In a press conference on Wednesday morning, Donald Trump said he hoped that Russia had hacked Hillary Clinton’s email server, and asked the country to release missing emails. By doing so, he arguably sanctioned a foreign power’s spying on an American cabinet member.
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Trump declared. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”
When asked if he was urging a foreign power to hack into an American’s email server — or meddle in the presidential election — The Donald dismissed the question. “That’s up to the president,” he declared, eventually telling the questioner to “be quiet — let the president talk to them.”
When it comes to the WikiLeaks release of emails from the Democratic National Committee, Trump argued that the source “is probably not Russia.”
Trump refused to ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to avoid meddling in the United States presidential election. “I’m not going to tell Putin what to do. Why should I tell Putin what to do,” The Donald quipped.
If Russia, or any other foreign government, is behind the hack, Trump said that this only shows how little respect other countries have for President Barack Obama.
“President Trump would be so much better for U.S. relations” than a President Clinton, The Donald declared. Of Putin, Trump said, “I don’t think he respects Clinton.”
See the video on the next page.
Here’s Trump calling on Russia to release Hillary’s emails.
Donald Trump: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.” https://t.co/f522S7Tn0F
— CNN (@CNN) July 27, 2016
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