"Most everyone in the administration felt strongly about punishing the Russians- hard- after their 2016 interference. Trump had a different view. While he may not have colluded with Russia as a presidential candidate, at a minimum he cheered them on. "Russia, if you're listening," he bellowed at a campaign rally in July 2016, "I hope you're able to find the thirty thousand [Clinton] emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by the press." It was the first time in memory that a US presidential candidate urged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his opponent. The same day, Russian hackers attempted to gain access to Secretary Clinton's personal office, and in the following weeks, Trump was gleeful at the turmoil caused by Moscow's ongoing leaks of other stolen emails. After it became clear that the Kremlin was actively working to manipulate the election, Trump was nonetheless effusive in his praise for the dictator. "If he says great things about me, I'm going to say great things about him," the candidate confessed to reporters. "I've already said, he really is very much of a leader. I mean, you can say, oh, isn't that a terrible thing- the man has strong control over the country... But certainly, in that system, he's been a leader, far more than our president has been a leader." He relished Putin's mockery of his defeated opponent after the election, tweeting: "Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: 'In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity.' So true!""