Dems get documents from late GOP operative who tried to obtain deleted Clinton emails: report

Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee have obtained documents from the estate of a late GOP operative who sought Hillary Clinton’s personal emails after they were deleted from her private email server, ABC News reported Wednesday.

Peter Smith, a Republican activist, had sought the deleted emails and reportedly used the names of top Trump campaign aides in a recruiting document as part of his attempt. Smith died last year.

William Ensing, the attorney for Smith’s estate, told ABC News that the estate had handed over the documents to the panel at the request of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

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Smith had told The Wall Street Journal shortly before his death that he was not working on behalf of the Trump campaign.

However, he had listed Trump officials including Stephen Bannon, Kellyanne Conway and former national security adviser Michael Flynn in the document soliciting help in retrieving the deleted emails.

Smith believed that Russian hackers may have obtained Clinton’s deleted emails, and that the messages could include damaging information.

The delivery of the documents is a sign that Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee are continuing to investigate ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, even after Republicans on the panel formally ended the probe into Russia’s election interference.

The GOP-written report concluding the investigation by the committee found that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, a finding that President Trump has touted in his attacks on special counsel Robert Mueller’s own probe into Russia’s election interference.

However, Democratic lawmakers on the panel have rejected that conclusion, saying the investigation hasn’t been completed.