Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Wednesday appeared to ask Russia to find and make public missing emails from Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“I will tell you this, Russia, if you’re listening,” Trump said. “I hope you’re able to find 30,000 emails that are missing.”
Trump was talking about emails from Clinton’s private email server that she deleted before turning over others to the State Department.
Clinton said the deleted emails covered private matters. She said they were not related to her work as secretary of state.
After Trump made the statement, his vice presidential running-mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, offered a different opinion.
Russia faced “serious consequences” if it interfered with the U.S. election, Pence said. It is unusual for a vice presidential candidate to disagree publicly with his running mate.
Trump’s unusual request came after WikiLeaks released emails from the Democratic National Committee, or DNC, Sunday. The emails showed that Democratic Party officials supported Clinton over her opponent for the party’s nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Sanders supporters had long suspected this. The party is expected to remain neutral in the competition for its presidential nomination.
President Barack Obama told NBC News Wednesday that outside experts blamed Russia for hacking into the DNC computers to get the emails.
The release seemed timed to embarrass Clinton as she prepared to accept the party’s nomination at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The four-day convention will end Thursday with Clinton’s acceptance speech. She is the first woman to run as the presidential choice of a major U.S. political party.
After his statement about the Clinton emails, Trump was asked whether he really wanted a foreign country to hack into U.S. computers.
Trump said: “If Russia or China or any other country has those emails, I mean, to be honest with you. I’d love to see them.”
The Clinton campaign said the Trump request is the “first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against a political opponent.”
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation judged that Clinton had been “extremely careless” in dealing with the emails. But, the FBI said no criminal charges were called for.
Words in This Story
consequence -- n. something that happens as a result of a particular action or set of conditions
suspect -- v. to think that someone or some country did something wrong
hack -- v. to secretly get access to the files on a computer or network in order to get information, cause damage
embarrass -- v. to make (someone) feel confused and foolish in front of other people
encourage -- v. to tell or advise someone to do something
espionage -- n. the activity of spying