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GOP Activist Who Sought Clinton Emails Cited Trump Campaign Officials

Peter W. Smith listed Bannon, Conway and Clovis, besides Flynn, in a recruiting document; his purpose isn’t clear and there’s no indication he asked for or received any coordination with them

By

Shane Harris,

Shane Harris

The Wall Street Journal

Biography Shane Harris
@shaneharris

Michael C. Bender and

Michael C. Bender

The Wall Street Journal

Biography Michael C. Bender
@MichaelCBender
mike.bender@wsj.com

Peter Nicholas

Peter Nicholas

The Wall Street Journal

Biography Peter Nicholas
@peterwsj
Peter.Nicholas@wsj.com

June 30, 2017 9:35 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—A longtime Republican activist who led an operation hoping to obtain Hillary Clinton emails from hackers listed senior members of the Trump campaign, including some who now serve as top aides in the White House, in a recruitment document for his effort.

The activist, Peter W. Smith, named the officials in a section of the document marked “Trump Campaign.” The document was dated Sept. 7, 2016. That was around the time Mr. Smith said he started his search for 33,000 emails Mrs. Clinton deleted from the private...

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