Donald Trump stood before the media on Wednesday and, when asked about the leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee, encouraged Russia to do more.

"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing," he said. "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let's see if that happens."

Trump: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing." pic.twitter.com/7YF88flTaX — Mashable News (@MashableNews) July 27, 2016

The cyberattack that broke into the Democratic National Committee and released emails to Wikileaks have been traced back to Russian hackers, leading to suspicion that it was the work of the Vladimir Putin-led governement that could see Trump as a more Russia-friendly leader than Hillary Clinton.

Trump later had a tense exchange with NBC reporter Katy Tur about the comment, telling her to "be quiet."

WATCH: Trump tells @KatyTurNBC to "be quiet" as she presses him on his hope that Russians have Clinton's emails. https://t.co/uBqOXeob3Y — NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) July 27, 2016

Trump's statements immediately drew criticism for appearing to encourage a foreign national to attack a U.S political party.

Trump right now: "I may have committed some, uh, light... treason." pic.twitter.com/7fiEOphLO7 — Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) July 27, 2016

Trump assured America he is not working w/ Russia, then politely asked Russia to illegally find more emails. And it won't change a thing. — Jensen Karp (@JensenClan88) July 27, 2016

Mr. Trump, as long as you're inviting Russia to hack Clinton emails, why not call on the North Koreans to do the same? — Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) July 27, 2016

Trump's ties to Russia and Vladimir Putin have been swirling since Talking Points Memo published a breakdown of his business relationships with Russian oligarchs and dealings with people like campaign advisor Paul Manafort, who previously served as a communications advisor for a former pro-Russia prime minister of Ukraine.

Wikileaks and Russia have both denied the country's involvement in the leaks, but the security community both within the U.S. government and the private sector have found evidence to show that the country was behind the email theft.

After the press conference, Trump doubled down on the comments in a tweet, asking for them be released to the FBI instead of the media.

If Russia or any other country or person has Hillary Clinton's 33,000 illegally deleted emails, perhaps they should share them with the FBI! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2016

Jake Sullivan, senior policy advisor for the Clinton campaign, issued a response.

"This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent," he said. "That's not hyperbole, those are just the facts. This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue."