GOP operative Peter Smith reportedly reached out to several questionable characters in his independent quest to find the emails he believed had been stolen from Hillary Clinton's private email server, including Russian hackers and alt-right activists, Politico reports. Although Smith died in May at the age of 81, his search for Clinton's emails remains of serious interest in the investigation into whether Russia worked with U.S. agents to swing the election in favor of President Trump.
Former Breitbart reporter Charles Johnson, who was banned from Twitter for threatening a Black Lives Matter activist, and Johnson's former business partner, Pax Dickinson, aided Smith in his hunt. "[Smith] wanted me to introduce him to [Stephen] Bannon, to a few others, and I sort of demurred on some of that," Johnson told Politico. "I didn't think his operation was as sophisticated as it needed to be and I thought it was good to keep the campaign as insulated as possible."
But Johnson didn't write Smith off, either:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The magnitude of what he was trying to do was kind of impressive," Johnson said. "He had people running around Europe, had people talking to Guccifer." (U.S. intelligence agencies have linked the materials provided by "Guccifer 2.0" — an alias that has taken credit for hacking the Democratic National Committee and communicated with Republican operatives, including Trump confidant Roger Stone — to Russian government hackers.) [Politico]
Smith's efforts were ultimately unfruitful but "paint a picture of a determined but ill-equipped activist casting about far and wide in a frantic but ultimately futile quest to get ahold of Clinton's deleted emails and publish them ahead of Election Day," Politico adds. Read the full story here.
-
Who were the ‘weekend snipers’ of Sarajevo?Under the Radar Italian authorities launch investigation into allegations far-right gun enthusiasts paid to travel to Bosnian capital and shoot civilians ‘for fun’ during the four-year siege
-
A free speech debate is raging over sign language at the White HouseTalking Points The administration has been accused of excluding deaf Americans from press briefings
-
Glinda vs. Elphaba, Jennifer Lawrence vs. postpartum depression and wilderness vs. progress in November moviesthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Wicked: For Good,’ ‘Die My Love’ and ‘Train Dreams’
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
-
Democrats split as Senate votes to end shutdownSpeed Read The proposed deal does not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Democrats’ main demand
-
USDA orders states to ‘undo’ full SNAP paymentsSpeed Read The Trump administration is telling states not to pay full November food stamp benefits
-
Senate takes first step to end record shutdownSpeed Read Eight senators in the Democratic caucus voted with Republicans to advance legislation to reopen the government
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
