Trump, Pence appear to differ on Russia hacking

PHILADELPHIA — On the same day Donald Trump encouraged Russia to find emails "missing" from Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state, Mike Pence issued a stern warning to hackers that appeared to contradict his Republican running mate.

At a news conference Wednesday in Florida, Trump said, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”

But Pence, the GOP nominee for vice president, released a statement saying if Russia or others are “interfering in our elections, I can assure you both parties and the United States government will ensure there are serious consequences.”

Pence’s statement referred to hackers who broke into Democratic National Committee emails that showed instances of staffers giving preference to Clinton. The leak forced the DNC’s chairwoman to resign.

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A Pence spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jake Sullivan, senior policy adviser for the Clinton campaign, blasted Trump for encouraging "a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent."

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a former Trump rival for the GOP nomination, also waded into the issue. He tweeted that Clinton "put our security at risk, but Putin is not our friend; foreign meddling in US elections cannot be tolerated."

Later Wednesday, Trump spokesman Jason Miller tried to backpedal on the candidate's remarks. Miller tweeted "to be clear, Mr. Trump did not call on, or invite, Russia or anyone else to hack Hillary's Clinton's e-mails today." Trump meant that if Russia or another group possesses the emails, they should share them with federal investigators, Miller said.

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Political analyst Paul Helmke said it's clear Trump and Pence didn't coordinate their messages, but he thinks they were talking about different issues.

To him, Trump was "just trying to be snarky" about Clinton's private server, while Pence focused on the DNC hack.

"(Pence) is basically saying if there is a foreign power behind the DNC hack, that's serious and somebody needs to check this out, which is the appropriate response," said Helmke, a civics professor and former Republican mayor of Fort Wayne.

Wednesday's events show the tricky situation Pence and other Republicans confront in dealing with Trump's presidential campaign, Helmke said.

"You never know for sure what Trump is going to say," Helmke said.

Pence's statement went on to argue that Democrats are too focused on who is behind the hacking. He said they aren’t “addressing the basic fact that they’ve been exposed as a party who not only rigs the government, but rigs elections. …The American people now have absolute and further proof of the corruption that exists around Hillary Clinton."

Pence has hit the campaign trail with Trump since becoming his running mate last week. The pair were in Scranton, Pa., on Wednesday for a town hall as the Democratic National Convention continued in Philadelphia.

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USA TODAY reporter David Jackson contributed to this story.

Call IndyStar reporter Chelsea Schneider at (317) 444-6077. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyStarChelsea.