Gregory Korte

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Wikileaks isn't working on hacking Donald Trump's tax returns — but presumably wouldn't mind if someone else obtained them.

The international transparency web site walked back a statement by its founder, Julian Assange, that he was "working on" hacking Trump's tax returns, saying it was intended as a joke.

In a yet-to-be-aired episode of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Assange defended the publication of hacked e-mails from the Democratic National Committee revealing attempts by party leaders to discredit the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

"So why don't you hack into Donald Trump's tax returns?" Maher asked.

"We're working on it," Assange said, cracking a smile.

Wikileaks clarified its position in a tweet Saturday: "WikiLeaks isn't 'working on' hacking Trump's tax-returns. Claim is a joke from a comedy show. We are 'working on' encouraging whistleblowers."

Trump, the real estate mogul and reality show star who purports his net worth to be $10 billion, has defied 40 years of tradition by not releasing his tax returns. Trump says he doesn't want to interfere with a pending IRS audit.

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