They carry on as if they actually have something and they take money for this. None of these people are interested in the country and it's problems, they are interested in maintaining a facade of importance. They collect money, carry on with faux storefronts of importance and allow voters to believe there is something not quite right about Hillary Clinton.
In September 2016, Smith and Ledeen got back in touch with each other about their
respective efforts. Ledeen wrote to Smith, "wondering if you had some more detailed reports or
memos or other data you could share because we have come a long way in our efforts since we
last visited ... . We would need as much technical discussion as possible so we could marry it
against the new data we have found and then could share it back to you 'your eyes only.'"282
Ledeen claimed to have obtained a trove of emails (from what she described as the "dark
web") that purported to be the deleted Clinton emails. Ledeen wanted to authenticate the emails
and solicited contributions to fund that effort. Erik Prince provided funding to hire a tech advisor
to ascertain the authenticity of the emails. According to Prince, the tech advisor determined that
the emails were not authentic.283
A backup of Smith's computer contained two files that had been downloaded from
WikiLeaks and that were originally attached to emails received by John Podesta. The files on
Smith's computer had creation dates of October 2, 2016, which was prior to the date of their release
by WikiLeaks. Forensic examination, however, established that the creation date did not reflect
when the files were downloaded to Smith' s computer. (It appears the creation date was when
WikiLeaks staged the document for release, as discussed in Volume I, Section III.B.3.c, supra.284)
The investigation did not otherwise identify evidence that Smith obtained the files before their
release by WikiLeaks.
Smith continued to send emails to an undisclosed recipient list about Clinton' s deleted
emails until shortly before the election. For example, on October 28, 2016, Smith wrote that there
was a "tug-of-war going on within WikiLeaks over its planned releases in the next few days," and
that WikiLeaks "has maintained that it will save its best revelations for last, under the theory this
allows little time for response prior to the U.S. election November 8."285 An attachment to the email claimed that WikiLeaks would release "All 33k deleted Emails" by "November 1st." No
emails obtained from Clinton's server were subsequently released.
Footnote 282 9/16/16 Email, Ledeen to Smith.
Footnote 283 Prince 4/4/18 302, at 4-5.
Footnote 284 The forensic analysis of Smith's computer devices found that Smith used an older Apple
operating system that would have preserved that October 2, 2016 creation date when it was downloaded
(no matter what day it was in fact downloaded by Smith). See Volume I, Section 111.B.3.c, supra. The
Office tested this theory in March 2019 by downloading the two files found on Smith's computer from
WikiLeaks's site using the same Apple operating system on Smith's computer; both files were successfully
downloaded and retained the October 2, 2016 creation date. See SM-2284941, serial 62.
Footnote 285 10/28/16 Email, Smith to Smith.
They feed the public a steady stream of lies to maintain turbulence and indecision. That is called fraud in my neighborhood.
I appreciate the Special Counsel for chasing down every lead. It clearly shows the underbelly of the Republican Party. The Special Counsel could not substantiate connections with Russia or otherwise because there was nothing to substantiate with these people. It is interesting even the Special Counsel had to develop a new technique to deal with these folks.
This is an election for President of the United States of America and they are treating it like they need to elect a new dog catcher. They'd make up the rampant danger to the people by false "mad dog bites."
Smith drafted multiple emails stating or intimating that he was in contact with Russian
hackers. For example, in one such email, Smith claimed that, in August 2016, KLS Research had
organized meetings with parties who had access to the deleted Clinton emails, including parties
with "ties and affiliations to Russia."286 The investigation did not identify evidence that any such
meetings occurred. Associates and security experts who worked with Smith on the initiative did
not believe that Smith was in contact with Russian hackers and were aware of no such
connection.287 The investigation did not establish that Smith was in contact with Russian hackers
or that Smith, Ledeen, or other individuals in touch with the Trump Campaign ultimately obtained
the deleted Clinton emails.
286 8/31/16 Email, Smith to Smith.
287 Safron 3/20/18 302, at 3; Szobocsan 3/29/18 302, at 6.
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I want to complete this up to Page 100 today. I will be back.
continued in next entry.
