BOMBSHELL: I was recruited by Trump campaign to collude on hack, says UK cyber analyst

[kpete]

Last edited Sat Jul 1, 2017, 10:22 AM - Edit history (2)

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

💥BOOM💥
***The Time I Got Recruited to Collude with the Russians***

By Matt Tait Friday, June 30, 2017, 10:50 PM

.............

The Latest BOMBSHELL:

This evening on the Lawfare Blog, ***UK cyber-analyst Matt Tait reveals in great detail how he himself was recruited by Peter W. Smith to verify the accuracy of emails, purportedly from Clinton’s server, that Smith had either obtained or was negotiating to obtain from an operative on the Deep Web.

Smith set up a dummy corporation to run the effort in order to avoid US campaign finance regulations, according to documents that Tait was sent by Smith.

Tait warned Smith repeatedly that any such hacked emails might be from Russian sources, but Smith was completely unconcerned about that possibility.

Smith was very well connected with Flynn and other highly placed persons in the Trump campaign, according to Tait, and frequently revealed intimate details of conversations and thinking of Flynn and the campaign that he could not have gotten otherwise.****



Other persons listed in documents Tait was sent by Smith:


The first group, entitled “Trump Campaign (in coordination to the extent permitted as an independent expenditure)” listed a number of senior campaign officials: Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Sam Clovis, Lt. Gen. Flynn and Lisa Nelson.

In the end, Tait saw no such hacked emails, and was dropped by Smith after refusing to sign a non-disclosure agreement. And indeed, it wasn’t until the WSJ story appeared this morning that Tait put two and two together and came forward with his story.





Shoes are beginning to drop, folks.


MORE SNIPPETS:

.............

***The combination of Smith’s deep knowledge of the inner workings of the campaign, this document naming him in the “Trump campaign” group, and the multiple references to needing to avoid campaign reporting suggested to me that the group was formed with the blessing of the Trump campaign.*** In the Journal’s story this evening, several of the individuals named in the document denied any connection to Smith, and it’s certainly possible that he was a big name-dropper and never really represented anyone other than himself. If that’s the case, Smith talked a very good game.

I’m sure readers are wondering: why did I keep quiet at the time? Actually, I didn’t. In the fall, prior to the election, I discussed the events of the story first with a friend, and secondly with a journalist. The trouble was that neither I nor the reporter in question knew what to make of the whole operation. It was certainly clear that the events were bizarre, and deeply unsettling. But it wasn’t reportable.

After all, Clinton’s private emails never materialized. We couldn’t show that Smith had been in contact with actual Russians. And while I believed—as I still do—that he was operating with some degree of coordination with the campaign, that was at least a little murky too. The story just didn’t make much sense—that is, until the Journal yesterday published the critical fact that U.S. intelligence has reported that Russian hackers were looking to get emails to Flynn through a cut-out during the Summer of 2016, and this was no idle speculation on my part.

Suddenly, my story seemed important—and ominous.

.................

!!!MORE!!!:
https://lawfareblog.com/time-i-got-recruited-collude-russians
https://www.wsj.com/articles/gop-activist-who-sought-clinton-emails-cited-trump-campaign-officials-1498872923?tesla=y&mod=e2tw
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/6/30/1676963/-BOMBSHELL-I-was-recruited-by-Trump-campaign-to-collude-on-hack-says-UK-cyber-analyst


and:
Maddow was talking about Smith’s long relationship with Newt Gingrich tonight. Dollars to doughnuts Newt was in on the scheme.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/6/30/1676964/-Chris-Hayes-and-Rachel-Maddow-connect-the-Dots-of-the-Peter-Smith-story

[shraby]

1. I hope Rachel picks up on this and runs with it.

[dalton99a]

2. Peter Smith is another link in the chain

[FarPoint]

27. Isn't he dead now?

Not sure how much evidence is available that substantiates his information...? Deposition?

[lindysalsagal]

3. The signing of the non-disclosure agreement is the crime: asking for and agreeing to

because if it were kosher to do this, and they were looking at content that was within their jurisdiction, the point would have been to reveal whatever they found, not hide it.

That's like a mob boss asking a thug to sign a paper saying, "I'll never tell." Like the mobster would call the police if the thug 'told."

It just shows how stupid these criminals are: But you'd have to be an idiot to work for frump in the first place, so that's not surprising.

[displacedtexan]

4. Trump is famous for requiring NDAs

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/275001-trump-calls-for-federal-employees-to-sign-nondisclosure-agreements

[smirkymonkey]

15. Regarding NDAs, what is to prevent a former Trump employee from disclosing information

anonymously? They could slip information to a reporter off the record and not be named. I suppose if it ever came to a court case it would be an issue, but the information itself could do some damage to him.

[anneboleyn]

18. Plus, aren't NDAs moot when illegal activity is involved? Like an illegal drug dealer can't force

his customers to sign NDAs right because they would be unenforceable? So maybe this was more of a threat of some kind rather than a true NDA?

[FakeNoose]

5. This story is important because it corroborates Peter Smith

Mr. Smith unfortunately died less than 2 weeks after telling his "tale" so he cannot be cross examined later and he can't be called as a witness. However this guy Matt Tait who lives in the UK is voluntarily verifying pretty much everything that Peter Smith said.

His involvement was not criminal and he doesn't have to worry about prosecution by US authorities.

Let's be happy that Matt Tait has the intestinal fortitude to speak up now, and maybe set an example for some of the GOP liars.

[kpete]

6. Corroborating Smith:

Link to tweet

[Hekate]

23. Add this to the paper trail...

[CakeGrrl]

7. I think David Corn is correct

It's what we DON'T see and hear Mueller doing with that superteam he's built that's critical. Lord knows the MSM won't dig for details.

It makes me wonder what AG Holder might know (or guess based on his experience) to have tweeted in the early morning hours yesterday.

[ancianita]

8. In case it hasn't shown up here.

Link to tweet

[Hekate]

22. That's a wonderful reach-out to those people. They must be living a nightmare...

...along with all the other career civil servants being maligned day after day after day.

Thank you, AG Holder.

[NBachers]

9. "Then, a few weeks into my interactions with Smith, he sent me a document"

This document needs to be submitted as evidence to Mueller.

[Honeycombe8]

11. I'm sure Mueller has it already. Comey probably had it. If the doc you refer to is

the list...it doesn't show much of anything. Matt was on the list himself, and he was surprised to see his name on the list. So that means the list didn't have the approval or knowledge of people on the list to BE on the list. They could have put YOUR name on the list w/o your knowledge.

[Honeycombe8]

10. I don't see how that shows anything much.

Other than hurting Flynn. Smith's dead.

Maybe I'm missing something, but this Matt guy fails to link the Trump team in any way with any collusion. He wasn't even sure that Smith was acting on behalf of anyone else, much less Trump teamers.

If the Trump team was involved in any way, they were very careful to use these go-betweens, who were vague.

BUT this might explain Trump's fear of Flynn and the Russians. THEY could name names in the Trump team, and maybe even Trump himself.

[progressoid]

12. Yeah. Not really a smoking gun here.

[ewagner]

17. Agree...but also....

..in the past few Republican election campaigns the campaign always used "cutouts" to do their dirty work.

My theory is that Smith was recruited to be the "cutout" for the campaign and that the deal to obtain the emails had already been made through yet another "cutout". Smith's job was only to authenticate what someone else already had arranged.

Smith was a perfect candidate for it...trusted because of his former successful "ratfucking" of Bill Clinton. He's a minor league player compared to Roger Stone who is involved in the tRump campaign.

[Hoyt]

13. They need to go after Trump's aides. But unless it gets Trump directly, I'm like you - not much here

[FakeNoose]

25. When Kushner finally talks, they'll have everything they need

In the meantime the investigators (Mueller and everyone) are taking things one step at a time.

These guys know how to dot the I's and cross the T's.

[Hoyt]

29. I think they might get Jared for selling visas, but that still doesn't get Trump

[ancianita]

31. To collude with those who he knows colluded with Russians, for any reason, is collusion.

If not, there's probably enough evidence that he's an accessory after the fact of felonious or treasonous collusion -- because ignorance of the law is no excuse -- which is an impeachable offense, still subject to indictment after he's impeached, resigns or finishes his term.

These guys don't play once this snowball rolls.

[Hoyt]

32. We can hope, but I wouldn't count on it.

[smirkymonkey]

14. K&R

[FailureToCommunicate]

16. K & R

[hrmjustin]

19. This gets more interesting by the day.

[videohead5]

20. The FBI

Said they did not find any proof Hillary's server was hacked but they could not be 100% sure.believe me if the Russians had her e-mails they would have leaked them before the election.

[Hekate]

21. Boom goes the dynamite

People forget that Nixon got re-elected. Watergate took 2 mortally long years.

[UTUSN]

24. R#44 & K for, O.K. I'll keep biting at all the Booms.

[MattP]

26. They might have had the 30000 personal emails and there was nothing in there

So they sat on it

[mercuryblues]

28. there was no evidence

of her personal server being hacked' The goal of hacks like this is to release the emails. With a few being doctored or/and made up out of thin air mixed in to be embarrassing.

[marylandblue]

30. Doesn't matter, they are known to alter emails too nt