In a press conference held today, Donald Trump made the following statement:
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the thirty thousand emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let’s see if that happens.”
In response, Jake Sullivan, an advisor to the Clinton campaign, released the following:
“This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent. That’s not hyperbole, those are just the facts. This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue.”
Former CIA Director Leon Panetta commented that Trump’s remarks call his loyalty to the U.S. into question and may evidence the existence of a conspiracy with a foreign power.