Amanda Coyne

The Greenville News

U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan tweeted praise for Wikileaks' release of emails hacked from a top Hillary Clinton aide's account Monday morning.

The document-leaking site has been periodically releasing caches of emails from Clinton presidential campaign chairman John Podesta for nearly two weeks. Those emails have included excerpts from Clinton's previously unreleased speeches to Wall Street financial firms, discussions on Clinton's private email server and aides' critical comments about Catholics and evangelical Christians. The Clinton campaign has declined to confirm whether any of the emails are authentic and have accused Russian state actors of their release to Wikileaks.

"Let me be clear: Thank God for Wikileaks — doing the job that [the mainstream media] WON'T!" Duncan tweeted Monday morning.

Let me be clear: Thank God for Wikileaks - doing the job that MSM WON'T! #ASSANGE#wikileaks — Rep. Jeff Duncan (@RepJeffDuncan) October 17, 2016

Duncan later clarified that he did not support "illegal activity" or Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges.

Not praise for Assange. Thankful info is out there for sure, but never have condoned illegal activity. Maybe if HRC hadn't destroyed emails — Rep. Jeff Duncan (@RepJeffDuncan) October 17, 2016

S.C. Democratic Party spokesman Matthew Ellison criticized Duncan for the statements, saying praising the leaking of emails was praising illegal actions.

"This is the second time in as many months that Jeff Duncan has praised law-breakers," Ellison said in a statement. "Last month, he honored Sheriff Joe Arpaio just after Arpaio was referred for criminal contempt of court after blatantly ignoring a court order to cease his racist law enforcement practices. Now, Duncan is saying 'thank God' for Putin's Russian cronies illegally attempting to influence our presidential election in favor of serial sexual assaulter Donald Trump."

A spokesman for Duncan later clarified that the congressman's praise was for an increased scrutiny on Clinton and her campaign.

"Congressman Duncan does not condone any illegal hacking — end of story. His point is that Americans expect oversight of the executive branch and powerful officials," the spokesman said in a statement. "Tragically, the critical media counterweight against the abuse of power — which makes a government by and for the people possible — is being tilted to one side by those who are connected and in power for their own personal gain. Secretary Clinton has received minimal scrutiny for her egregious instances of impropriety when compared to Mr. Trump. When the media fails to protect the interests of every American against corruption regardless of political affiliation, then there will be a corresponding growth of distrust and cynicism."