As attention turns to the Democratic Party while it hosts its convention this week, Donald Trump made a move to take back some of the spotlight. In a bizarre press conference, often featuring Trump’s stream of consciousness speaking style, he suggested that Russia should seek out Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails–in effect, asking a foreign nation to spy on the email correspondence of a U.S. secretary of state.

“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press,” Trump said–referring to an estimated 30,000 emails that were deleted from Clinton’s email server before it was turned over to the FBI.

Here’s the clip from C-SPAN for some additional context:

Donald Trump: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.”https://t.co/XHc9hh4gBt

— CSPAN (@cspan) July 27, 2016

His comments come at a striking time: a recent hack of the Democratic Party’s servers led to a massive release of internal emails sent by party leaders. The emails were published by WikiLeaks and although the source of the hack remains unknown, cyber security experts and American intelligence agencies strongly suspect that Russians were involved.

However, at his press conference on Wednesday, Trump noted that no one knows for sure who was behind the attack and argued that Russia probably wasn’t involved. He also took the opportunity to call the current Democratic leadership weak, noting that if Russias were involved, the hack shows that they don’t respect the U.S. government.

Interestingly, shortly after Trump made his comments at the press conference, his running mate–Indiana Governor Mike Pence–issued a statement saying, “If it is Russia and they are interfering in our elections, I can assure you both parties and the United States government will ensure there are serious consequences.” Speaker of the House Paul Ryan issued a similar statement denouncing any potential Russian involvement. “Russia is a global menace led by a devious thug. Putin should stay out of this election,” a spokesperson for Paul Ryan said.

The leak has been particularly embarrassing for the Democratic Party. The emails provided evidence that, among other things, the party failed to live up to its neutrality claims in the primary race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Shortly after the documents were released, DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz resigned and the rift between the Democratic Party and many Bernie Sanders supporters deepened.

Given the timing of the DNC email leak and its potential ties to the Russian government, many are deeply concerned that it reflects an effort by a foreign government to influence the outcome of a major American election. The decision to release the emails shortly before the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia appears to have been made to have the largest political effect. Indeed, the scandal may have added to many voters dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party and its handling of the primary campaign, which recently culminated in protests at the party’s convention early this week.

Meanwhile, Trump appears to have doubled down on his call for Russia to find Clinton’s deleted emails. Shortly after his speech, Trump sent out the following Tweet:

If Russia or any other country or person has Hillary Clinton’s 33,000 illegally deleted emails, perhaps they should share them with the FBI!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2016

The Clinton campaign recently started suggesting that Trump’s relationship with Russia may be cause for concern. “He certainly has a bromance with Mr. Putin,” Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta said of Trump on Tuesday. But when asked, Trump quickly said he had no business dealings in Russia. And Paul Manafort, his campaign manager, recently labeled the implication that Trump has ties with the Russian government “absurd.”

Whether Trump’s recent comments are merely a way to steal attention away from Clinton during her party’s convention or if–to borrow a phrase from Trump–“something else is going on,” well, that’s for you to decide.

Kevin Rizzo

Kevin Rizzo is the Crime in America Editor at Law Street Media. An Ohio Native, the George Washington University graduate is a founding member of the company. Contact Kevin at krizzo@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Trump Calls on Russia to Find Clinton’s Deleted Emails appeared first on Law Street.

Don’t expect to see any Apple gear at the GOP Convention in Cleveland next month–the tech giant announced that it will not provide any funds, devices, or support to this year’s convention, like it has done in the past. Why not? Apple is protesting Donald Trump’s controversial remarks about minorities, women, and immigrants.

So, @realDonaldTrump, you’re such a “great” businessman and negotiator. You’re costing the #RNC sponsors (#Apple, #Ford, etc.). WTF?!#HaHa!

— (((B. Paul Stuart))) (@BrianPaulStuart) June 18, 2016

Apple is the first company in Silicon Valley to take this stance. Others like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft have already pledged some financial support to the convention. At the 2008 Republic and Democrat conventions, Apple donated about $140,000 worth of MacBooks and other products. In 2012, it did not donate free merchandise to the conventions because Democrats placed a ban on corporations financing their nominating events.

A spokeswoman for the GOP convention told Politico that “we are working with a variety of major tech partners who are focused on being part of the American political process.” In April, Google said it would attend the convention and would be the official live stream provider, despite pressure from protestors who called Google to back out because of Trump’s inflammatory comments. Microsoft will donate computers and software, but will not provide funds to Republicans, like it has in the past. Despite Mark Zuckerberg’s criticism of Trump, Facebook has pledged financial and other support to the convention.

Apple declined to comment on its decision, so it’s unclear whether or not it will still provide financial support to the Democratic convention in Philadelphia next month. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not respond to Politico’s request for a comment. Donald Trump has singled out Apple in speeches, criticizing CEO Tim Cook’s stance on encryption, while also calling for a boycott on its products.

Of course #Apple is uneasy over Donald J. Trump. Who isn’t? #rnc #uspoli #p2 https://t.co/wxjVfc31wD

— Truth Mashup (@truthmashup) June 19, 2016

Usually, tech companies donate to Democratic and Republican efforts equally. Apple typically does not engage in politics, but Cook has tried to forge relationships with Democrat and Republican lawmakers. Last year, Cook and a handful of top Republican house leaders dined in D.C. together.

However, Apple’s decision is not totally unprecedented. HP, who was a major donor to the GOP convention in 2012, backed out of funding this year’s convention because of pressure from activists at ColorofChange.org in June. The New York Times reported in March that several corporations were thinking about scaling back their donations to the RNC because of Trump’s political ideology.

“We want them to divest from hate. We want them to pull all their money and support,”  said Mary Alice Crim, field director for Free Press Action Fund, which is part of the anti-Trump campaign. She added that tech companies that are backing the convention need to be “thinking hard about where they put their brand, and whether they want to align their brand with racism, hatred, and misogyny.”

Inez Nicholson

Inez is an editorial intern at Law Street from Raleigh, NC. She will be a junior at North Carolina State University and is studying political science and communication media. When she’s not in the newsroom, you can find her in the weight room. Contact Inez at INicholson@LawStreetMedia.com.

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