Donald Trump: I’ll release tax returns when Hillary Clinton releases emails

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says he’ll release his tax returns if Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton releases the over 30,000 emails she deleted from a private email account while serving as secretary of state.

In a boisterous exchange during Monday night’s presidential debate, Trump seemed to offer an opening for releasing his tax returns, which he thus far refused to do.

“I will release my tax returns … when she releases her 33,000 emails that have been deleted,” Trump said, adding that “my lawyers, they say ‘don’t do it.'”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I will release my tax returns … when she releases her 33,000 emails that have been deleted," Trump said, adding that "my lawyers, they say 'don't do it.'"

WATCH: Hillary Clinton implies Donald Trump doesn’t pay income taxes

1:55 Presidential debate: Hillary Clinton implies Donald Trump doesn’t pay income taxes

Clinton has characterized the email messages that were erased as personal, arguing there was no reason to keep them. The democratic nominee admitted that using a private email address for work-related correspondence during her time as secretary of state was “a mistake” and on Monday night said again apologized and said she takes responsibility for that.

READ MORE: FBI reviewing nearly 15,000 new Clinton emails

Clinton then accused Trump of possibly hiding important information from voters by refusing to release his tax returns. These things, according to Clinton, could include how rich he may or may not be, how much he gives to charity and how much tax he may or may not pay.

“We’ve been told through investigative reporting that he owes about $650 million to Wall Street and foreign banks,” Clinton said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We've been told through investigative reporting that he owes about $650 million to Wall Street and foreign banks," Clinton said.

“Or maybe he doesn’t want the American people, all of you watching tonight, to know that he’s paid nothing in federal taxes.”

READ MORE: Hillary Clinton releases 2015 tax returns; putting pressure on Donald Trump

The only years for which there are publicly available records, Clinton said, are those where Trump was applying for a casino license – and they showed no federal income tax had been paid.

“That makes me smart,” Trump interjected.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "That makes me smart," Trump interjected.

Trump has argued, falsely, that he cannot release his returns as a result of an IRS audit process. Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine, both released their tax returns in August. Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, also recently released a decade of his tax filings.