Trump said Russia probably didn't hack the DNC. Then he asked them to hack Clinton's emails.

Donald Trump encouraged Russians to find Hillary Clinton&#039;s missing emails by hacking her server.

(Image credit: Sara D. Davis/Getty Images)

published 27 July 2016

Donald Trump rejected claims that he is friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, going so far as to say that the DNC email hack wasn't actually done by the Russians — despite that being the FBI's leading theory. It was "probably China," Trump suggested, "or it could be somebody sitting in his bed."

Trump was met by a number of questions from the press in Florida about his relationship with Putin, who he said last year he "got to know ... very well because we were both on 60 Minutes, we were stablemates." But on Wednesday, Trump said, "I never met Putin. I don't know who Putin is ... I don't know anything about him other than that he'll respect me."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.