A political data firm employed by the Trump campaign sought to work with WikiLeaks, publisher Julian Assange has said.

The proposed partnership was first uncovered by the Daily Beast, which reported that Cambridge Analytica approached the anti-secrecy organisation in an effort to locate the 33,000 emails deleted from Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

The Trump campaign effectively found an ally in WikiLeaks during the campaign when the organisation published thousands of internal emails from Democratic Party operatives, moving Donald Trump to proclaim “I love WikiLeaks” in response to one disclosure.

While Mr Assange did not address whether that the interaction with Cambridge Analytica involved Ms Clinton’s emails, he confirmed on Twitter that the firm sought to work with WikiLeaks and was rebuffed.

A spokesman for Cambridge Analytica did not respond to a message seeking comment.

The whereabouts of the deleted emails and Ms Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was serving as secretary of state were both prominent issues during the presidential contest. Mr Trump and allies often accused Ms Clinton of duplicity or criminality, leading chants of “lock her up” at rallies and directly threatening to jail Ms Clinton during a presidential debate, and Mr Trump publicly invited Russia to search for the emails.

What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? Show all 8 1 /8 What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On the leaked tape from 2005 where he talks about sexually assaulting women “I'm very embarrassed by it, I hate it, but it's locker room talk. It's one of those things. I will knock the hell out of Isis” Getty What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On Hillary Clinton “I hate to say it but if I win I'm going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation. There has never been so many lies, so much deception. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.” Rex What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On Bill Clinton “What he's done to women, there's never been anybody in the history of politics in this nation that's been so abusive to women.” AP What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On whether his alleged opposition to Iraq War had been disproven "It’s not debunked. It’s not debunked." Getty What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On exploiting tax loopholes "I absolutely used it, and so did Warren Buffett, and so did George Soros and so did many people who Hillary is getting money from." Getty What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On claims he's sexist “I have great respect for women. Nobody has more respect for women than I do.” Reuters What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On what he respects about Hillary Clinton “I will say this about Hillary - she doesn't quit, she doesn't give up. I tell it like it is. She's a fighter.” Reuters What did Donald Trump say during the second presidential debate? On his controversial immigration policies "It’s called extreme vetting. We’re going to areas like Syria, where they are coming in by the tens of thousands because of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton wanting to allow a 550 per cent increase [of refugees] over Obama. People are coming into this country. We have no idea who they are, where they are from and what their feelings are about this country." Getty

After playing roles in the contentious 2016 election, both WikiLeaks and Cambridge Analytica have become entangled in ongoing investigations into Russia’s effort to influence the outcome of the vote.

During the campaign, WikiLeaks published reams of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and from John Podesta, an adviser to Ms Clinton.

American intelligence agencies concluded that the Russian government directed the hacks, part of what they later described as a broad-based disruption campaign ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Assange has denied that the Russian government supplied his organization with the emails.

Protester throws Russian flags at president shouting "Trump is treason! Trump is treason!"

Congressional investigators have also shown an interest in Cambridge Analytica, asking the organization for information about its work for the Trump campaign.

In a statement to the media, Cambridge Analytica said earlier this month that it was complying but was not under investigation and faced “no suggestion of wrongdoing”.

Without mentioning Cambridge Analytica by name, the head of Mr Trump's re-election committee released a statement distancing the campaign from the data firm. In the statement Michael S Glassner heaped praise on the Republican National Committee for steering “the most sophisticated data targeting program in modern American history”, obliquely rejecting the notion that Cambridge Analytica formed a crucial part of the campaign's voter outreach effort.