GOP Operative Who Chased Clinton Emails Killed Self In Minnesota: Report

ROCHESTER, MN — A Republican operative from suburban Chicago killed himself in a Minnesota hotel after he attempted to obtain Hillary Clinton's missing emails from Russian hackers, according to a the Chicago Tribune. In a hotel room near Rochester's Mayo Clinic, Peter W. Smith, 81, of Lake Forest, Illinois left documents, including a statement police described as a suicide note.

Smith died just days after Smith was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal about his attempts to secure Clinton's emails. He implied in that report that he was working under the direction of Gen. Michael Flynn.

Smith's obituary described him as "A quietly generous champion of efforts to ensure a more economically and politically secure world." Smith was active in various policy organizations, including the Heritage Foundation, Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Brookings Institution, according to his obituary.

He also served as national chairman of the College Young Republicans and later assisted in fundraising efforts for the Republican National Committee, GOPAC and other political organizations. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Minnesota Patch, click here to find your local Minnesota Patch. Also, follow us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Flynn, a surrogate of President Trump during the campaign, became national security adviser in January. He was shortly forced to resign that position, however, when it was discovered he had misled the public and the vice president about a conversation he had with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition.

The note Smith left before his death stated he was in poor health and had an expiring life insurance policy, the Chicago Tribune reported:

In the note recovered by police, Smith apologized to authorities and said that "NO FOUL PLAY WHATSOEVER" was involved in his death. He wrote that he was taking his own life because of a "RECENT BAD TURN IN HEALTH SINCE JANUARY, 2017" and timing related "TO LIFE INSURANCE OF $5 MILLION EXPIRING."

One of Smith's former employees told the Tribune he thought the elderly man had gone to the famed clinic to be treated for a heart condition. Mayo spokeswoman Ginger Plumbo said Thursday she could not confirm Smith had been a patient, citing medical privacy laws.

Read much more from the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Lawfare Blog, the Wall Street Journal, and Politico

Photo credit: (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)