By Aaron Miller
Republican nominee, Donald Trump, has shocked America with his audacious request for Russia to hack Hilary Clinton’s emails in order to expose any untoward communications contained therein.
Donald Trump on Wednesday expressly asked Russia to find “missing” emails belonging to Hillary Clinton.“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” he disappointedly told reporters in Doral, Florida. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let’s see if that happens. That will be next.”
Cyber security experts, and U.S officials have suggested Russian state hackers were most likely behind the hacking of thousands of DNC emails, which uploaded to WikiLeaks on Friday. The speculation ”most likely”, is not definitive, but strongly suggests that they have good reason to believe their suspicions. The FBI is currently investigating everything.
Trump has denied any ties to Putin as well as any part in a leak, Democrats allege to have been done to discredit Clinton and pave the way for a relatively smooth victory for Donald Trump. As a billionaire, Trump is believed to have multiple business connections across the globe, including Russia.
Trump said “I’m not going to tell Putin what to do. Why should I tell Putin what to do?”The answer to this rhetorical question is not complex at all. Trump can influence Putin’s mind, if the Russian president believes Hilary Clinton as president will be against his political interest or that of his country, whilst Trump would be a president with an ideology more compatible with his.
Trump did well when he attempted to allay suspicions of his influence or knowledge of any hackings, by criticizing Russia a bit if indeed they are responsible for the hacking.
“But if it is Russia, it’s really bad for a different reason, because it shows how little respect they have for our country when they would hack into a major party and get everything,” he said. However, he ruined what may have appeared to make him look innocent, when he shortly after asked Russia to hack Clinton’s emails and expose the other 30,000 emails missing.
Sullivan is correct in the sense that it is incontrovertibly immoral and dangerous for a presidential nominee to encourage another country to behave deplorably in a manner that compromises the national security of a country.It defies common sense how a presidential nominee could possibly support hacking. A man who could become president.
Trump told a reporter that it gives him ”no pause” to ask a foreign government like Russia, China, or anybody, to interfere or hack into a system of anybody in America. How worrying to hear this from a prospective president. Donald Trump asking Russia to find missing emails of Hilary Clinton, by conducting a hacking process is unacceptable and deplorable. Hacking of anybody’s emails should never ever be supported by a member of the establishment or anybody for that matter.
In July, FBI Director James Comey stated he was not going to recommend for any charges to be brought against Hilary Clinton for sending classified emails on a personal server she used while secretary of state. Comey added that his investigators managed to find “several thousand” emails Clinton did not turn over to the State Department because she deemed them private.
Clinton’s campaign will definitely be doing their best to discredit Trump for his actions, though the only thing that could justify or protect Trump’s action, is some logical or legal argument that makes it reasonable or desirable for any missing emails to be unearthed by hook or crook.