GOP Activist Peter W. Smith Reportedly Raised $100K From Secret Donors in Hunt for Clinton Emails
Source: The Daily Beast
Peter W. Smith had reportedly planned to give some of the money to a scholarship fund for Russian students that may or may not exist.
Allison Quinn
10.07.18 9:20 AM ET
Longtime Republican activist Peter W. Smith raised at least $100,000 from unidentified donors for a "scholarship fund
for Russian students" as part of an effort to obtain emails stolen by hackers from Hillary Clinton ahead of the 2016 presidential election, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Smiths activities were first reported by the Journal in 2017, when federal investigators first began zeroing in on his financial transactions to determine whether he had paid any members of the Russian government as part of the effort. Smiths activities have reportedly warranted special scrutiny because the opposition researcher himself is said to have told acquaintances he was working with Michael Flynn, who was then a top adviser to candidate-Trump and later went on to become one of the first former Trump aides to be indicted in Muellers ongoing Russia investigation.
New details revealed by the Journal on Sunday suggest Smiths activities were far more extensive than previously known and may very well have involved Russian figures. Smith is said to have collected at least $100,000 from four wealthy donors and gone to great lengths to keep their identities secret, using encrypted email accounts and having his associates communicate with him by using the Draft folder in a Gmail account they all shared under the pseudonym Robert Tyler. Another $50,000 that went toward the so-called Clinton Email Reconnaissance Initiative was provided by Smith himself, according to the report, though it was not immediately clear if he acquired the money from other individuals.
One email reportedly referenced plans to give part of the money raised to a scholarship fund for Russian students. This $100k total with the $50k received from you will allow us to fund the Washington Scholarship Fund for the Russian students for the promised $150K, the Journal quoted the email as saying. The writer was identified only as Rob, and there does not appear to be any scholarship fund with that name offering assistance to Russian students. The email went on to include the cryptic message: The students are very pleased with the email releases they have seen, and are thrilled with their educational advancement opportunities. The email reportedly came shortly after WikiLeaks began releasing hacked Democratic emails.
Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-activist-peter-w-smith-reportedly-raised-dollar100k-from-secret-donors-in-hunt-for-clinton-emails?ref=home
Initech
(100,099 posts)Follow the money!
Turbineguy
(37,364 posts)Getting money from conservatives is like stealing candy from a baby.
dalton99a
(81,568 posts)Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)Mueller I am sure has this thread on his Big Board of Republican criminals.
True_Blue
(3,063 posts)Stallion
(6,476 posts)ck4829
(35,084 posts)IthinkThereforeIAM
(3,076 posts)... and her college studies in DC?
BumRushDaShow
(129,376 posts)Took the words right out of my mouth when I saw your post!
(college studies would be in quotes )
JohnnyRingo
(18,640 posts)Now republicans are picking each other's pockets. So much for honor among thieves.
He knew it was a snipe hunt, but idiots were throwing money at him. Next he'll look for the real birth certificate.
karin_sj
(811 posts)And I hope Mueller gets to the bottom of it. From an article in New York Magazine from last year:
"...Wall Street Journal reporter Shane Harris broke an explosive story that received relatively little attention in the national media. Harris found that Peter W. Smith, a Republican operative with a history of partisan skullduggery going back years, sought to obtain hacked Clinton emails on behalf of the Trump presidential campaign. (Smith told people he approached he was working for Michael Flynn.) Smith died shortly after speaking to Harris. Now the Chicago Tribune reports that Smith died of an apparent suicide.
Smiths suicide note declares, No foul play whatsoever, recent bad turn in health since January, 2017, life insurance of $5 million expiring. It is entirely possible this is true. But there is at least some reason to doubt that Smith decided to take his own life to claim an expiring life-insurance payment due to a sudden turn in his health.
Harris reports that when he spoke with Smith, he saw no indication of bad health or any suicidal behavior"
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/republican-who-sought-clinton-emails-didnt-die-of-old-age.html