We don’t know for certain if Russian intelligence agencies are really helping Donald Trump win this year’s presidential election… but he now openly admits he wants their help.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Trump directly encouraged Russia to help him politically by releasing emails that were deleted from Hillary Clinton’s private email server while she was Secretary of State.

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“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you find the 33,000 emails that are missing,” he said. “I think you’ll be rewarded mightily by our press!”

It goes without saying that this is the first time that an American presidential candidate has openly called upon a foreign government to help him bring down his political opponent.

A wide range of security experts believe that Russian intelligence agencies are responsible for hacking and leaking embarrassing emails sent by officials at the Democratic National Committee that disparaged Bernie Sanders and his campaign.

Since then, questions have turned to whether Trump has any investments in Russia that might give the country influence over his decision making as president. Trump has denied any such investments, but nonetheless refuses to release his tax returns.