Trump urges Russia ‘to hack’ Clinton’s emails

Presidential rivals trade blows as emails row takes bizarre turn

Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump has made an extraordinary plea for a foreign power to locate the 30,000 missing emails from Hillary Clinton’s private email server, saying they would reveal “some beauties”.

“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Mr Trump said at a press conference in Miami.

“I think you’ll be rewarded mightily by our press.”

Mrs Clinton’s campaign claims that Russia hacked computers belonging to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and released those emails on the eve of the party’s convention to benefit Mr Trump’s candidacy.

The emails, published by WikiLeaks last week, revealed that the DNC favoured Mrs Clinton’s candidacy over rival Bernie Sanders, triggering a leadership shake-up within the DNC.

Mr Trump dismissed the claims, saying it is not clear who hacked those emails, but said the incident is a sign that foreign countries no longer respect the US.

The Clinton campaign immediately denounced Mr Trump’s call.

“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,” senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

US president Barack Obama, meanwhile, said “anything’s possible” when asked during an interview whether the Russians could be working to sway the election towards Mr Trump.

Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. DONALD TRUMP

Picture: PA. Demonstrators square off during a rally outside City Hall in Philadelphia during the third day of the Democratic National Convention.