A Republican operative was working to obtain Hillary Clinton's emails for years, and reportedly consulted with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to do it.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that a veteran Republican activist, Peter Smith, met with Flynn back in 2015 as a part of his long-term effort to get his hands on Clinton's emails. Smith apparently thought that Flynn's connections would help him get in touch with hackers who had access to the emails.
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.
Smith, who reportedly secretly raised $100,000 in his quest to purchase Clinton's stolen emails, died in 2017, but the associates' email reviewed by the Journal details that Smith spoke with Flynn "on the day he left for his trip to Moscow." Smith apparently told people in 2016 that he was using Flynn's connections in his effort to chase down the emails that hackers stole from Clinton.
His hunt for the trove of emails was "all-consuming," Smith's acquaintances say, and he was convinced that they would reveal incriminating information. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office is reportedly interested in Smith's actions and relationship with Flynn as a part of its probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.
-
Bluetoothing: the phenomenon driving HIV spike in FijiUnder the Radar ‘Blood-swapping’ between drug users fuelling growing health crisis on Pacific island
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
