Clinton 'can't recall' if she joked about getting rid of Julian Assange with a drone - as she holds a press conference in a secretive shrine

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In a campaign that has been dominated by issues of secrecy and transparency, Hillary Clinton held a brief press conference inside the secretive Zembo Shrine in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where she delivered an opaque answer about whether she once joked about offing the founder of Wikileaks.

Clinton fielded a handful of questions from traveling reporters who traveled through hallways lined with black and white portraits of Shriners in their distinct caps inside the shrine in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where she held a rally Tuesday.

Clinton took a question about whether she had once spoken about assassinating Assange, after Wikileaks sent around a blog post that claimed Clinton had once said, 'Can't we just drone this guy?'

No secrets here: Hillary Clinton held a press conference in a Zembo Shrine in Harrisburg, PA

Target? Julian Assange had promised a surprise for Clinton early on Tuesday morning, then failed to deliver. But he still claims he will release massive amounts of hacked material

Deadly firepower: Among the armed drones which are at the government's disposal are Air Force Reapers. It can carry Paveway or JDAM bombs or Hellfire missiles

Assange had spoken this week about releasing new hacked materials relating to Hillary Clinton, although he provided nothing new in remarks he gave online.

'I don’t know anything about what he’s talking about,' Clinton said, asked about Assange's statements.

'And I don’t recall any joke. It would have been a joke if it had been said, but I don’t recall that,' Clinton said.

The posting was by the truepundit website. Campaign manager Robby Mook got asked about the rumor this week and responded: 'I’m reticent to comment on anything that the Wikileaks people have said. They’ve made a lot of accusations in the past.'

Before her remarks, Clinton continued to hammer Donald Trump for secrecy. The public only recently learned about his $916 million write-off, gleaned after a source sent an anonymous letter to a New York Times reporter.

Clinton noted that she has released 40 years of her tax returns.

Clintons spoke inside the Zembo Shrine in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

But Trump continues to demand that she release some of the thousands of emails that were included on her home email server. 

FBI Director James Comey faulted Clinton for carelessness, though he did not charge her for violations of government record keeping laws. 

Clinton took only a few questions, and didn't respond to a shouted question about her own claim of a $700,000 loss on her 1995 tax return.

She made no mention, nor was she asked, about her emails, although the State Department continues to fight in court over a schedule of release of materials sought in freedom of information lawsuits. 

The shrine includes a large auditorium that seated about 2,000 cheering supporters. 

Secretive group with a lot to hide: The Clinton campaign held its stump stop and press conference in the Zembo Shrine

Zembos: Former leaders of the Shriners were on the wall behind the Clinton branding

Hillary Clinton earlier campaigned at the shrine in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, where she blasted Donald Trump for living 'like a billionaire'

Earlier, Clinton blasted her rival for living a lifestyle of the rich and famous.

Clinton, who has family connections to the Scranton area and whose dad and brother attended Penn State University, pointed for the second day in a row at the $916 million dollar loss that Trump appears to have claimed on his 1995 tax return.

She pointed to comments from Trump where the real estate mogul talked about buying opportunities during the housing collapse.

'Now who says that? Who wants that to happen?' she asked a crowd of about 2,000 who gathered inside the local Zembo Shrine facility, a Shriners facility built in the Moorish style.

Clinton hit him for 'Living in his big tower – he has no idea what’s happening,' she said. 

The former Arkansas first lady frequently dropped her g's when speaking to the crowd.

She spoke about 'Takin’ on all those kitchen table issues that keep people up at night' as well as 'makin’ sure that every family has the tools that they need to get ahead and stay ahead.'

Keeping her focus on Trump, amid a polling rise the picked up after the first presidential debate, Clinton said Trump 'embodies the risky behavior that cashed our economy' and called him part of the 'quick buck culture that still rules too many corporate boardrooms.'

Clinton spoke after a new NBC / Survey Monkey poll showed her leading Trump by six percentage points nationally.