Is Suicide of GOP Operative Key to Russia Probe?

[DonViejo]

TRUMP RUSSIA INVESTIGATION: DOES THE SUICIDE OF GOP 'DIRTY TRICKS' OPERATIVE PETER W. SMITH HOLD THE KEY TO THE ELECTION HACKING ALLEGATIONS?

BY TOM PORTER ON 10/21/17 AT 11:10 AM

The case of GOP operative and financier Peter W. Smith—who was found non-responsive in a room in the Rochester Hotel, Minnesota, in mid-May—is now the focus of investigators probing Russia’s alleged bid to tip the 2016 presidential election in Trump's favor.

A source close to the investigation told CNN on Monday that the House Intelligence Committee interviewed Matt Tait, a British security analyst who was recruited by Smith in his search for the Hillary Clinton emails allegedly hacked by Russia, and Jonathan Safron, a law student who worked as Smith's assistant. The Senate committee probing Russian interference reached out to Eric York, another security expert Smith enlisted in his email hunt, according to the report.

Business Insider reported Tuesday that Tait was also interviewed by Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed to investigate allegations of collusion between the Trump team and Russia. Days before Smith's death, he was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, describing to the publication his efforts to obtain the stolen Clinton emails. Documents obtained by the Journal showed that Smith considered General Michael Flynn, at that time a campaign adviser to Donald Trump, an ally.

Smith had a long history of digging dirt on GOP opponents, focusing on the Clintons in particular. The wealthy businessman was behind some of the most notorious Clinton conspiracy theories, including the ' Troopergate' allegations that Bill Clinton used Arkansas state troopers to arrange illicit trysts with women. He reportedly discussed funding a probe into a trip to the Soviet Union that Bill Clinton made in 1969 while a college student.

According to a 1995 article in Crain’s Chicago Business, he was one of the earliest and most enthusiastic backers of Newt Gingrich, the Republican Senator who was an adviser to the Trump campaign, acting as chief fundraiser for Gingrich's political action committees in the 1990s .

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http://www.newsweek.com/does-strange-case-gop-operative-peter-w-smith-hold-key-russia-probe-687614

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Suicide?