Throughout 2016, the Trump Campaign expressed interest in Hillary Clinton's private
email server and whether approximately 30,000 emails from that server had in fact been
permanently destroyed, as reported by the media. Several individuals associated with the
Campaign were contacted in 2016 about various efforts to obtain the missing Clinton emails and
other stolen material in support of the Trump Campaign. Some of these contacts were met with
skepticism, and nothing came of them; others were pursued to some degree. The investigation did
not find evidence that the Trump Campaign recovered any such Clinton emails, or that these
contacts were part of a coordinated effort between Russia and the Trump Campaign.
The Trump Campaign were contacted by several people to find the 30,000 emails and some contacts were taken seriously, but, there is no evidence the emails were found or that there was Russian contact over it.
a. Henry Oknyansky (a/k/a Henry Greenberg)
"Miami Herald" (click here)
In the spring of 2016, Trump Campaign advisor Michael Caputo learned through a Florida based Russian business partner that another Florida-based Russian, Henry Oknyansky (who also went by the name Henry Greenberg), claimed to have information pertaining to Hillary Clinton. Caputo notified Roger Stone and brokered communication between Stone and Oknyansky. Oknyansky and Stone set up a May 2016 in-person meeting.260 Oknyansky was accompanied to the meeting by Alexei Rasin, a Ukrainian associate involved in Florida real estate. At the meeting, Rasin offered to sell Stone derogatory information on Clinton that Rasin claimed to have obtained while working for Clinton. Rasin claimed to possess financial statements demonstrating Clinton's involvement in money laundering with Rasin's companies. According to Oknyansky, Stone asked if the amounts in question totaled millions of dollars but was told it was closer to hundreds of thousands. Stone refused the offer, stating that Trump would not pay for opposition research.261
There must be a million of these Political Right Wing opiners.
Michael Caputo, (click here) a former Trump campaign adviser, is managing director of Buffalo-based Zeppelin Communications. He is a 30-year veteran of Republican and international campaigns.
This is probably not the Russian, but, the name fits. His contact information is Chicago.
Dr. Alexander Rasin (click here) is an Assistant Professor in the College of Computing and Digital Media (CDM) at DePaul University. He received his Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Computer Science from Brown University, Providence. He is a co-Director of Data Systems and Optimization Lab at CDM and his primary research ...
"Palm Beach Daily News"
April 18, 2019
By Wayne Washington
The Trump Campaign were contacted by several people to find the 30,000 emails and some contacts were taken seriously, but, there is no evidence the emails were found or that there was Russian contact over it.
"Miami Herald" (click here)
In the spring of 2016, Trump Campaign advisor Michael Caputo learned through a Florida based Russian business partner that another Florida-based Russian, Henry Oknyansky (who also went by the name Henry Greenberg), claimed to have information pertaining to Hillary Clinton. Caputo notified Roger Stone and brokered communication between Stone and Oknyansky. Oknyansky and Stone set up a May 2016 in-person meeting.260 Oknyansky was accompanied to the meeting by Alexei Rasin, a Ukrainian associate involved in Florida real estate. At the meeting, Rasin offered to sell Stone derogatory information on Clinton that Rasin claimed to have obtained while working for Clinton. Rasin claimed to possess financial statements demonstrating Clinton's involvement in money laundering with Rasin's companies. According to Oknyansky, Stone asked if the amounts in question totaled millions of dollars but was told it was closer to hundreds of thousands. Stone refused the offer, stating that Trump would not pay for opposition research.261
There must be a million of these Political Right Wing opiners.
Michael Caputo, (click here) a former Trump campaign adviser, is managing director of Buffalo-based Zeppelin Communications. He is a 30-year veteran of Republican and international campaigns.
This is probably not the Russian, but, the name fits. His contact information is Chicago.
"Palm Beach Daily News"
April 18, 2019
By Wayne Washington
Florida played (click here) a starring role in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s final redacted report on Thursday with Russian-linked actors trying to use the Sunshine State to influence the 2016 election in favor of Republican candidate Donald Trump.
There may be no legal basis to claim Trump colluded with the Russians, but one need only look at the Florida connections to see plenty of smoke.
“We’re not immune, especially if you’re in a swing state,” said U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach. “The Russians are not going to stop trying to interfere with our democracy. It’s going to keep happening, and (there) could be other countries trying to do it as well.”...
Oknyansky claimed to the Office that Rasin's motivation was financial. According to Oknyansky, Rasin had tried unsuccessfully to shop the Clinton information around to other interested parties, and Oknyansky would receive a cut if the information was sold. 262 Rasin is noted in public source documents as the director and/or registered agent for a number of Florida companies, none of which appears to be connected to Clinton. The Office found no other evidence that Rasin worked for Clinton or any Clinton-related entities.
In their statements to investigators, Oknyansky and Caputo had contradictory recollections about the meeting. Oknyansky claimed that Caputo accompanied Stone to the meeting and provided an introduction, whereas Caputo did not tell us that he had attended and claimed that he was never told what information Oknyansky offered. Caputo also stated that he was unaware Oknyansky sought to be paid for the information until Stone informed him after the fact.263
Footnote 260 Caputo 5/2/18 302, at 4; Oknyansky 7/13/18 302, at l.
Footnote 261 Oknyansky 7/13/18 302, at 1-2.
Footnote 262 Oknyansky 7/13/18 302, at 2.
Footnote 263 Caputo 5/2/18 302, at 4; Oknyansky 7/13/18 302, at l.
Nothing that substantiated any direct involvement with Russian agents.
The Office did not locate Rasin in the United States, although the Office confirmed Rasin had been issued a Florida driver's license. The Office otherwise was unable to determine the content and origin of the information he purportedly offered to Stone. Finally, the investigation did not identify evidence of a connection between the outreach or the meeting and Russian interference efforts.
This is a really annoying issue when it comes to Trump as a serious candidate for President. He is more interested in finding and creating scandal than addressing issues of the country and purport to have solutions.
b. Campaign Efforts to Obtain Deleted Clinton Emails
After candidate Trump stated on July 27, 2016, that he hoped Russia would "find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump asked individuals affiliated with his Campaign to find the deleted Clinton emails.264 Michael Flynn-who would later serve as National Security Advisor in the Trump Administration- recalled that Trump made this request repeatedly, and Flynn subsequently contacted multiple people in an effort to obtain the emails.265
Barbara Ledeen (click here) and Peter Smith (click here) were among the people contacted by Flynn. Ledeen, a long-time Senate staffer who had previously sought the Clinton emails, provided updates to Flynn about her efforts throughout the summer of 2016.266 Smith, an investment advisor who was active in Republican politics, also attempted to locate and obtain the deleted Clinton emails.267
Ledeen began her efforts to obtain the Clinton emails before Flynn's request, as early as December 2015.268 On December 3, 2015, she emailed Smith a proposal to obtain the emails, stating, "Here is the proposal I briefly mentioned to you. The person I described to you would be happy to talk with you either in person or over the phone. The person can get the emails which 1. Were classified and 2. Were purloined by our enemies. That would demonstrate what needs to be demonstrated."269
Attached to the email was a 25-page proposal stating that the "Clinton email server was, in all likelihood, breached long ago," and that the Chinese, Russian, and Iranian intelligence services could "re-assemble the server's email content."270 The proposal called for a three-phase approach. The first two phases consisted of open-source analysis. The third phase consisted of checking with certain intelligence sources "that have access through liaison work with various foreign services" to determine if any of those services had gotten to the server. The proposal noted, "Even if a single email was recovered and the providence [sic] of that email was a foreign service, it would be catastrophic to the Clinton campaign[.]" Smith forwarded the email to two colleagues and wrote, "we can discuss to whom it should be referred."271 On December 16, 2015, Smith informed Ledeen that he declined to participate in her "initiative." According to one of Smith's business associates, Smith believed Ledeen's initiative was not viable at that time.272
They are a bunch of liars. This is what FOX News did to the name Hillary Clinton. They made her name so toxic that liars could concoct a story and sell it to the public. I am surprised no Republican has constructed 30,000 emails as those erased by the Clinton attorneys.
Peter Smith committed suicide.
July 13, 2017
By Katherine Skiba, David Heinzmann and Todd Light
A Republican donor and operative from Chicago's North Shore (click here) who said he had tried to obtain Hillary Clinton's missing emails from Russian hackers killed himself in a Minnesota hotel room days after talking to The Wall Street Journal about his efforts, public records show.
In mid-May, in a room at a Rochester hotel used almost exclusively by Mayo Clinic patients and relatives, Peter W. Smith, 81, left a carefully prepared file of documents, including a statement police called a suicide note in which he said he was in ill health and a life insurance policy was expiring....
Footnote 264 Flynn 4/25/18 302, at 5-6; Flynn 5/1/18 302, at 1-3.
Footnote 265 Flynn 5/1/18 302, at l-3.
Footnote 266 Flynn 4/25/18 302, at 7; Flynn 5/4/18 302, at 1-2; Flynn 11 /29/17 302, at 7-8.
Footnote 267 Flynn 11/29/17 302, at 7.
Footnote 268 Szobocsan 3/29/17 302, at 1.
Footnote 269 12/3/15 Email, Ledeen to Smith.
Footnote 270 12/3/15 Email, Ledeen to Smith (attachment).
Footnote 271 12/3/15 Email, Smith to Szobocsan & Safron.
Footnote 272 Szobocsan 3/29/18 302, at 1.
Just weeks after Trump's July 2016 request to find the Clinton emails, however, Smith tried to locate and obtain the emails himself. He created a company, raised tens of thousands of dollars, and recruited security experts and business associates. Smith made claims to others involved in the effort (and those from whom he sought funding) that he was in contact with hackers with "ties and affiliations to Russia" who had access to the emails, and that his efforts were coordinated with the Trump Campaign.273
It was a blasted circus. These are old, white men that simply embark on "ideas" of political power and set up companies, I am assuming non-profits, collect money and then make attempts to make a fantasy come true. This is all nonsense. It would appear anyone and everyone can be a Trump advisor.
Sam Clovis, (click here) a former Donald Trump adviser, watches results during the GOP Victory Party in Sioux City on election night, Nov. 8, 2016. Clovis, a former Morningside College professor and talk radio host, is battling serious health issues, according to local Republican officials.
On August 28, 2016, Smith sent an email from an encrypted account with the subject "Sec. Clinton's unsecured private email server" to an undisclosed list of recipients, including Campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis. The email stated that Smith was "[j]ust finishing two days of sensitive meetings here in DC with involved groups to poke and probe on the above. It is clear that the Clinton's home-based, unprotected server was hacked with ease by both State-related players, and private mercenaries. Parties with varying interests, are circling to release ahead of the election." 274
On September 2, 2016, Smith directed a business associate to establish KLS Research LLC in furtherance of his search for the deleted Clinton emails.275 One of the purposes o fKLS Research was to manage the funds Smith raised in support of his initiative.276 KLS Research received over $30,000 during the presidential campaign, although Smith represented that he raised even more 277 money.
Smith recruited multiple people for his initiative, including security experts to search for and authenticate the emails. 278 In early September 2016, as pait of his recruitment and fundraising effort, Smith circulated a document stating that his initiative was "in coordination" with the Trump Campaign, "to the extent permitted as an independent expenditure organization."279 The document listed multiple individuals affiliated with the Trump Campaign, including Flynn, Clovis, Bannon, and Kellyanne Conway280 The investigation established that Smith communicated with at least Flynn and Clovis about his search for the deleted Clinton emails, 281 but the Office did not identify evidence that any of the listed individuals initiated or directed Smith's efforts.
They are a bunch of con-artists. This is the Republican Party? Wow. They probably belong in jail.
Footnote 273 8/31/16 Email, Smith to Smith.
Footnote 274 8/28/16 Email, Smith to Smith.
Footnote 275 Incorporation papers ofKLS Research LLC, 7/26/17 Szobocsan 3/29/18 302, at 2.
Footnote 276 Szobocsan 3/29/18 302, at 3.
Footnote 277 Financial Institution Record of Peter Smith and KLS Research LLC, 10/31 /17 - 10/11/16 Email, Smith to
Footnote 278 Tait 8/22/17 302, at 3; York 7 /12/17 302, at 1-2; York 11/22/17 302, at 1.
Footnote 279 York 7 /13/17 302 (attachment KLS Research, LLC, "Clinton Email Reconnaissance Initiative," Sept. 9, 2016).
Footntoe 280 The same recruitment document listed Jerome Corsi under "Independent Groups/Organizations/Individuals," and described him as an "established author and writer from the right on President Obama and Sec. Clinton."
281 Flynn 11/29/17 302, at 7-8; 10/15/16 Email, Smith to Flynn et al.; 8/28/16 Email, Smith to Smith (bee: Clovis et al.).
continued in next entry
Oknyansky claimed to the Office that Rasin's motivation was financial. According to Oknyansky, Rasin had tried unsuccessfully to shop the Clinton information around to other interested parties, and Oknyansky would receive a cut if the information was sold. 262 Rasin is noted in public source documents as the director and/or registered agent for a number of Florida companies, none of which appears to be connected to Clinton. The Office found no other evidence that Rasin worked for Clinton or any Clinton-related entities.
In their statements to investigators, Oknyansky and Caputo had contradictory recollections about the meeting. Oknyansky claimed that Caputo accompanied Stone to the meeting and provided an introduction, whereas Caputo did not tell us that he had attended and claimed that he was never told what information Oknyansky offered. Caputo also stated that he was unaware Oknyansky sought to be paid for the information until Stone informed him after the fact.263
Footnote 260 Caputo 5/2/18 302, at 4; Oknyansky 7/13/18 302, at l.
Footnote 261 Oknyansky 7/13/18 302, at 1-2.
Footnote 262 Oknyansky 7/13/18 302, at 2.
Footnote 263 Caputo 5/2/18 302, at 4; Oknyansky 7/13/18 302, at l.
Nothing that substantiated any direct involvement with Russian agents.
The Office did not locate Rasin in the United States, although the Office confirmed Rasin had been issued a Florida driver's license. The Office otherwise was unable to determine the content and origin of the information he purportedly offered to Stone. Finally, the investigation did not identify evidence of a connection between the outreach or the meeting and Russian interference efforts.
This is a really annoying issue when it comes to Trump as a serious candidate for President. He is more interested in finding and creating scandal than addressing issues of the country and purport to have solutions.
b. Campaign Efforts to Obtain Deleted Clinton Emails
After candidate Trump stated on July 27, 2016, that he hoped Russia would "find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump asked individuals affiliated with his Campaign to find the deleted Clinton emails.264 Michael Flynn-who would later serve as National Security Advisor in the Trump Administration- recalled that Trump made this request repeatedly, and Flynn subsequently contacted multiple people in an effort to obtain the emails.265
Barbara Ledeen (click here) and Peter Smith (click here) were among the people contacted by Flynn. Ledeen, a long-time Senate staffer who had previously sought the Clinton emails, provided updates to Flynn about her efforts throughout the summer of 2016.266 Smith, an investment advisor who was active in Republican politics, also attempted to locate and obtain the deleted Clinton emails.267
Ledeen began her efforts to obtain the Clinton emails before Flynn's request, as early as December 2015.268 On December 3, 2015, she emailed Smith a proposal to obtain the emails, stating, "Here is the proposal I briefly mentioned to you. The person I described to you would be happy to talk with you either in person or over the phone. The person can get the emails which 1. Were classified and 2. Were purloined by our enemies. That would demonstrate what needs to be demonstrated."269
Attached to the email was a 25-page proposal stating that the "Clinton email server was, in all likelihood, breached long ago," and that the Chinese, Russian, and Iranian intelligence services could "re-assemble the server's email content."270 The proposal called for a three-phase approach. The first two phases consisted of open-source analysis. The third phase consisted of checking with certain intelligence sources "that have access through liaison work with various foreign services" to determine if any of those services had gotten to the server. The proposal noted, "Even if a single email was recovered and the providence [sic] of that email was a foreign service, it would be catastrophic to the Clinton campaign[.]" Smith forwarded the email to two colleagues and wrote, "we can discuss to whom it should be referred."271 On December 16, 2015, Smith informed Ledeen that he declined to participate in her "initiative." According to one of Smith's business associates, Smith believed Ledeen's initiative was not viable at that time.272
They are a bunch of liars. This is what FOX News did to the name Hillary Clinton. They made her name so toxic that liars could concoct a story and sell it to the public. I am surprised no Republican has constructed 30,000 emails as those erased by the Clinton attorneys.
Peter Smith committed suicide.
July 13, 2017
By Katherine Skiba, David Heinzmann and Todd Light
A Republican donor and operative from Chicago's North Shore (click here) who said he had tried to obtain Hillary Clinton's missing emails from Russian hackers killed himself in a Minnesota hotel room days after talking to The Wall Street Journal about his efforts, public records show.
In mid-May, in a room at a Rochester hotel used almost exclusively by Mayo Clinic patients and relatives, Peter W. Smith, 81, left a carefully prepared file of documents, including a statement police called a suicide note in which he said he was in ill health and a life insurance policy was expiring....
Footnote 264 Flynn 4/25/18 302, at 5-6; Flynn 5/1/18 302, at 1-3.
Footnote 265 Flynn 5/1/18 302, at l-3.
Footnote 266 Flynn 4/25/18 302, at 7; Flynn 5/4/18 302, at 1-2; Flynn 11 /29/17 302, at 7-8.
Footnote 267 Flynn 11/29/17 302, at 7.
Footnote 268 Szobocsan 3/29/17 302, at 1.
Footnote 269 12/3/15 Email, Ledeen to Smith.
Footnote 270 12/3/15 Email, Ledeen to Smith (attachment).
Footnote 271 12/3/15 Email, Smith to Szobocsan & Safron.
Footnote 272 Szobocsan 3/29/18 302, at 1.
Just weeks after Trump's July 2016 request to find the Clinton emails, however, Smith tried to locate and obtain the emails himself. He created a company, raised tens of thousands of dollars, and recruited security experts and business associates. Smith made claims to others involved in the effort (and those from whom he sought funding) that he was in contact with hackers with "ties and affiliations to Russia" who had access to the emails, and that his efforts were coordinated with the Trump Campaign.273
It was a blasted circus. These are old, white men that simply embark on "ideas" of political power and set up companies, I am assuming non-profits, collect money and then make attempts to make a fantasy come true. This is all nonsense. It would appear anyone and everyone can be a Trump advisor.
On August 28, 2016, Smith sent an email from an encrypted account with the subject "Sec. Clinton's unsecured private email server" to an undisclosed list of recipients, including Campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis. The email stated that Smith was "[j]ust finishing two days of sensitive meetings here in DC with involved groups to poke and probe on the above. It is clear that the Clinton's home-based, unprotected server was hacked with ease by both State-related players, and private mercenaries. Parties with varying interests, are circling to release ahead of the election." 274
On September 2, 2016, Smith directed a business associate to establish KLS Research LLC in furtherance of his search for the deleted Clinton emails.275 One of the purposes o fKLS Research was to manage the funds Smith raised in support of his initiative.276 KLS Research received over $30,000 during the presidential campaign, although Smith represented that he raised even more 277 money.
Smith recruited multiple people for his initiative, including security experts to search for and authenticate the emails. 278 In early September 2016, as pait of his recruitment and fundraising effort, Smith circulated a document stating that his initiative was "in coordination" with the Trump Campaign, "to the extent permitted as an independent expenditure organization."279 The document listed multiple individuals affiliated with the Trump Campaign, including Flynn, Clovis, Bannon, and Kellyanne Conway280 The investigation established that Smith communicated with at least Flynn and Clovis about his search for the deleted Clinton emails, 281 but the Office did not identify evidence that any of the listed individuals initiated or directed Smith's efforts.
They are a bunch of con-artists. This is the Republican Party? Wow. They probably belong in jail.
Footnote 273 8/31/16 Email, Smith to Smith.
Footnote 274 8/28/16 Email, Smith to Smith.
Footnote 275 Incorporation papers ofKLS Research LLC, 7/26/17 Szobocsan 3/29/18 302, at 2.
Footnote 276 Szobocsan 3/29/18 302, at 3.
Footnote 277 Financial Institution Record of Peter Smith and KLS Research LLC, 10/31 /17 - 10/11/16 Email, Smith to
Footnote 278 Tait 8/22/17 302, at 3; York 7 /12/17 302, at 1-2; York 11/22/17 302, at 1.
Footnote 279 York 7 /13/17 302 (attachment KLS Research, LLC, "Clinton Email Reconnaissance Initiative," Sept. 9, 2016).
Footntoe 280 The same recruitment document listed Jerome Corsi under "Independent Groups/Organizations/Individuals," and described him as an "established author and writer from the right on President Obama and Sec. Clinton."
281 Flynn 11/29/17 302, at 7-8; 10/15/16 Email, Smith to Flynn et al.; 8/28/16 Email, Smith to Smith (bee: Clovis et al.).
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