The comments stem from accusations that Russian Federation hacked into the DNC’s computer servers and leaked emails to WikiLeaks in order to help the Republican’s campaign, despite an absolute lack of any proof to substantiate those claims.
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U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday said he hoped Russian hackers have obtained 33,000 emails that his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton deleted from her private email server.
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing, “Trump told reporters in Miami, a reference to emails that Clinton deleted from her private server”.
In response, Clinton campaign senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan blasted the GOP nominee for encouraging “a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent”. “That’s not hyperbole. Those are just the facts”. “But to suggest that a foreign power hack into the email system of a national political party – one of two major political parties – that was so far over the line that I believe that the statement should be condemned”.
Headlines referring to Trump’s “call on Russia to cyber-invade the United States” have contributed to a media frenzy, with the DNC accusing Russians of hacking into its emails.
“There’s no change”, Trump said. “It’s going to be an extension of Obama”. “I was shocked to hear him mention the N word”, he said.
Trump also protested what he called unfair media coverage and chided Clinton for not holding news conferences of her own.
Trump himself has denied that he was somehow involved in the hack, which has been floated as a possible attack on the 2016 election process itself.
Also on Wednesday, Trump’s vice presidential nominee Mike Pence vowed that Russia would face “serious consequences” if an investigation proves that Russian hackers were behind the leak.
USA Today pointed out that Trump’s comments came as he was attempting to counter some of the publicity of the Democratic National Convention happening in Philadelphia this week. He also said he is open to lifting sanctions against Russian Federation, imposed after its 2014 invasion of Ukraine, and recognizing Crimea, which Putin annexed. He again refused to release his tax returns until after a federal audit of them is complete. Clinton’s campaign reacted swiftly, seeking to use Trump’s comments to play into their larger narrative that the Republican nominee lacks the knowledge and temperament to commander in chief. “They probably have her 33,000 emails that she lost and deleted”.
The feelings between Trump and the Democrats are mutual.
The real estate mogul said he would be “so much better for U.S”.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., accused Trump of trying to divide Americans by race and gender by “fanning the flames of fear and hatred”.
In his critique of the Democratic convention, Trump claimed Clinton would continue to push the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership with Pacific Rim nations, despite her recent opposition to the pact.
Nonetheless, Trump has not dropped the matter and threw more of a spotlight on Clinton’s emails during the Republican convention in Cleveland, where he called Clinton a criminal.
Trump has sought out business opportunities in Russia over the years and his son, Donald Trump Jr., once claimed that Russian investors “make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets”.
As Clinton formally accepts the Democratic nomination on Thursday night, Trump plans to campaign that same day in the swing state of Iowa.
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Lemire contributed reporting from NY.
