Comey Friend Unveils "Smoking Gun" Story

Tyler Durden's picture

For about a week now, Benjamin Wittes, the Brookings Institution senior fellow and noted ally of former FBI Director James Comey, has been taunting the Trump administration with tweets suggesting that another 'bombshell' story, presumably related to the Russia investigation, was in the works and set to drop any minute (we covered it all here: "Tick, Tick, Tick" Comey Ally Scrambles To Explain Why "Next Trump Bombshell" Didn't Arrive Today). 

Of course, people took notice of the warnings because Wittes posted similar tweets just before the New York Times published their now infamous story on Comey's memos.

 

So what was the "bombshell" story?  It seems to have come in the form of a rather bizarre, and thoroughly difficult to follow, Wall Street Journal article entitled "GOP Operative Sought Clinton Emails From Hackers, Implied a Connection to Flynn."

To summarize the 'bombshell', the story is about a long-time Republican opposition researcher, 81-year-old Peter W. Smith, who apparently set out on a mission to find Hillary's 30,000 emails which the FBI confirmed had gone missing.  In his efforts to find those emails, he scoured hacking chat rooms looking for clues and/or hackers that might be able to help him.  The WSJ alleges that Smith may or may not have been working with Michael Flynn but, in the end, they found absolutely nothing.  To summarize even further, a guy tried to find Hillary's missing emails and failed...HALT THE PRESSES!

Of course, the goal of the story is to paint some sinister plot that involved Smith and Michael Flynn enlisting the help of some Russians to hack the 2016 election...thus 'proving' the collusion angle. 

Unfortunately, the story seems to prove the exact opposite which is, if Flynn was really running around on some wild goose chase looking for Hillary's missing 30,000 emails by chatting up hackers on a message board then we have to assume that means he wasn't in any way connected to the original hack which ended up on WikiLeaks.

Flynn

 

In any event, here is the Wall Street Journal's take:

Before the 2016 presidential election, a longtime Republican opposition researcher mounted an independent campaign to obtain emails he believed were stolen from Hillary Clinton’s private server, likely by Russian hackers.

 

In conversations with members of his circle and with others he tried to recruit to help him, the GOP operative, Peter W. Smith, implied he was working with retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, at the time a senior adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump.

 

“He said, ‘I’m talking to Michael Flynn about this—if you find anything, can you let me know?’” said Eric York, a computer-security expert from Atlanta who searched hacker forums on Mr. Smith’s behalf for people who might have access to the emails.

 

Emails written by Mr. Smith and one of his associates show that his small group considered Mr. Flynn and his consulting company, Flynn Intel Group, to be allies in their quest.

Of course, it's only deeper in the story that the WSJ admits they have no idea if Flynn was even involved with Smith...but no one reads an entire article so it's fairly irrelevant.

What role, if any, Mr. Flynn may have played in Mr. Smith’s project is unclear. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Smith said he knew Mr. Flynn, but he never stated that Mr. Flynn was involved.

And another irrelevant detail from the WSJ:

Mr. Smith said he worked independently and wasn’t part of the Trump campaign.

Finally, Smith apparently started his search for Hillary's emails over the Labor Day Weekend in 2016.  His efforts to scour hacker forums ultimately yielded 5 groups who claimed to have the missing emails, 2 of which were Russian.  However, Smith seemingly doubted the authenticity of the intelligence he received and, as a result, never leaked their contents.

His project began over Labor Day weekend 2016 when Mr. Smith, a private-equity executive from Chicago active in Republican politics, said he assembled a group of technology experts, lawyers and a Russian-speaking investigator based in Europe to acquire emails the group theorized might have been stolen from the private server Mrs. Clinton used as secretary of state.

 

In the interview with the Journal, Mr. Smith said he and his colleagues found five groups of hackers who claimed to possess Mrs. Clinton’s deleted emails, including two groups he determined were Russians.

 

Mr. Smith said after vetting batches of emails offered to him by hacker groups last fall, he couldn’t be sure enough of their authenticity to leak them himself. “We told all the groups to give them to WikiLeaks,” he said. WikiLeaks has never published those emails or claimed to have them.

Meanwhile, the WSJ confirms that Smith died last month at the age of 81.

So there you have it...all the makings of another salacious, 'bombshell' story with multiple references to Russians, hackers, collusion, shady dealings with Michael Flynn, etc, etc, etc....yet still no evidence of pretty much anything.

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Miskondukt's picture

Oh how conveeenient, point to a dead guy as the source. 

dr kill's picture

Always always have a backup deadguy to give them when they come for you. 

AVmaster's picture

I really hope that leftards don't completely go away...

 

I haven't been this entertained since Family Matters was cancelled...

NoDebt's picture

"Oops!  Did I do thaaaat?"

 

Buckaroo Banzai's picture

The WSJ article is truly unreadable and incomprehensible. It is like it was auto-generated by some kind of propaganda bot. Clinton emails! Russia hackers! Michael Flynn! Some old guy you've never heard of--EXCEPT NOW HE'S DEAD! SHAZAM!

813kml's picture

The WSJ was praying for polonium poisoning but alas he just choked on a Werther's.

Creepy_Azz_Crackaah's picture

"we are now able to finally reveal what Wittes has apparently known for some time..."

That Obama is gay?

gladih8r's picture

Dear Libs, is there anything else on TV?  This channel is getting boring.

jeff montanye's picture

here's a way to liven it up.  pretend you are the fbi in some sense.  try to answer these questions:

1. why didn't you investigate the murder of seth rich, especially after a reward was offered?

2. how did the dnc "rebuff" your efforts to examine their data servers after emails were stolen from them?

thank goodness the legacy media is letting them think for a while, so we can keep playing.

seriously, try it.

any_mouse's picture

1. Just another homicide by a Black shooter in the District.

Bonus: Accountants and Lawyers do not investigate street crime.

Just maybe the family is reluctant because they know the reason that Seth Rich was in that neighborhood and why a Black man might want to off him for non-political reasons, besides just because. A reason that would be embarrassing.

If Rich did leak the emails, he only did it because he was upset that his man Bernie got burnt by the DNC. Not exactly a sacrificial saint with a noble cause.

mofreedom's picture

Don't you dare talk about Obama's testicles like that.  He's a man, a real man, like he said he's a Christian,,,and American...

drendebe10's picture

Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha

King of Ruperts Land's picture

Are you kidn' his honorary Native American name is "pole smokem mud slime"

thinkmoretalkless's picture

At least Smith doesn't have to read anymore of these "Smoking Gun" stories

83_vf_1100_c's picture

If he was chasing Clinton emails then the real story is hillary arkancided the old dude.

nmewn's picture

lol...tick tick tick tick...squirt!...another big, fat & juicy nothing burger.

Mmm, delicious ;-)

813kml's picture

The most shocking revelation is that Comey has a friend.

nmewn's picture

And a dingle berry hanging from the anus of the Brookings Institute to boot.

/////

Oh wait!

He claims that other guy too, that "Columbia law professor" fellow, who, when not teaching "law" to de youtz of America...LMMFAO!...accepts (as yet non-produced for public scrutiny) purloined government documents ostensibly called "memos" from government officials (Comey) for the expressed purpose (as admitted to by Comey under oath) of leaking to the Alinsky press (again, as admitted to by Comey under oath and thereby making said "law professor" an accomplice, thus my LMMFAO!) in order to get ANOTHER buddy (Mueller) appointed as the Extra-Special Prosecutor of all things Podesta/DNC/Burnie emails which showed "non-democratic collusion" between Hillary and FIRED Debbie Wassername-Schultz!

I think datz bout right ;-)

King of Ruperts Land's picture

Shouldn't they all just go to the bunker now.

Ephraim's picture

That was a good one.

jcaz's picture

Hahahah!!!!!  You win the internet today!

Crash Overide's picture

The truth seems to be winning in the end, that tick tock means something else entirely.

chubbar's picture

PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE CNN, run with this story! I can hardly wait to see the fall out from some asshat news organization that runs, once again, with a complete bullshit story about Trump and Russian hacking. I swear, even the most ardent SJW's are starting to see through these lies! Seriously though, what a bunch of fucking assholes. Is it any wonder that Comey has been completely outed as a left wing Hillary nut job with buddies like this on his side?

drendebe10's picture

Comeover has as much credibility as a plastic turd floating in a toilet in a diarrhea ward.

nmewn's picture

shhh, it will get better...still...I'm not going to be "that guy" that divulges the ending but you really are going to luuuv it.

Chess, they WILL give up "the queen" to play a few moar moves, half the fun is they know it and we know it at this point ;-)

Hal n back's picture

This all feels like I am back in high school.

Never One Roach's picture

Bigger  bombshell:

 

Oscar Mayer Weener plant in Wisconsin closes downafter 100 years of making Weeners!

 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/oscar-mayer-plant-in-wisconsin-...

 

8 years of Hussein-o-nomics has consequences!

WTFRLY's picture

I wish someone would uncover what these liberals are smoking.

Buckaroo Banzai's picture

Pole. They are smoking pole.

Lumberjack's picture

Nothing burgers...gonna have to warn the kids about that dangerous new drug....

" Friends don't let friends do nothing burgers"

Zarbo's picture

In the hood they are called "dindu nothing" burgers.

Lumberjack's picture

Damn nothing burger pushers. This is what happens to your brain when you do nothing burgers...

https://smittenkitchen.com/2014/10/the-crispy-egg/

King of Ruperts Land's picture

Indeed no! True friends bring in $60,000 "succulent" hot dogs special from Chicago.

Squid Viscous's picture

Obozo would have tried to help them if he was still prez, he LOVES weiners.

Mr Pink's picture

Does anyone still eat those delicious nitrate bombs?

mary mary's picture

Me!  :-)  Also, I freeze them and give them to the dogs.  Hotdogcicles.

pippi68's picture

Hard to compete with those $60,000 in hot dogs I guess.

King of Ruperts Land's picture

I believe those were "succulent" hot dogs brought in special from Chicago.

GlobalMapper's picture

Now that's a health plan that will work!

mofreedom's picture

I can't read, being an old NDPKer, did they work hard producing hotdogs an 8 year old would eat, or just the same old mushy chicken lips and asses?

drendebe10's picture

U ain't justa shttn.  The illegal Indonesian kenyan alien muslim fudgepacker imbecile pathological liar needs its skin sand papered off, buried in salt then thrown out in the middle of a Syrian desert 

The Alarmist's picture

OK, that's one dead body for Trump. Can someone remind me how many are in the Clintons' closet?

NoDebt's picture

They don't make numbers that high.

 

83_vf_1100_c's picture

Imelda Marcos shoe close can't hold all the Clinton's dead bodies. Rumor is the Clinton Foundation under a shell corp bought a string of bankcrupt Arkansas storage units near pig processing plants. Plenty of room to expand and the packing plant covers up the smell of the fresh bodies.

Lordflin's picture

The intent here is to keep the administration off balance with prevarication and innuendo in hopes they can accomplish little more than responding to accusations... Don't get me wrong, I was never a Trump enthusiast, although I have not been as quick to turn on him as some here have been... after all, there was Hillary... sad isn't it that we are reduced to thinking that way... then too, one or two more supreme court justices and things could turn in a better direction. This last is kind of funny, as historically the supreme court was never the final arbiter of the constitution... this has been an instrument of comparatively recent vintage... but it could serve our interest. That is if anyone is at all close to how they are portrayed. But I digress... my point is this constant onslaught while difficult to ignore, after all, when one is deluged by nothing but lies it is hard not to buy some of them, means nothing. Of course the people behind it mean even less, and were I to inadvertently roll over one in my Avalanche I suspect I might avail myself of the opportunity to back up...

drendebe10's picture

Progressive liberal democraps are the meanest nastiest hypocrite disrespectful intolerant divisive turds on the face of the earth Fukemall

PlayMoney's picture

Its also alleged that Trump and Flynn dropped a deuce at the same time in the congressional crapper. Although not in the same stall.

MFL5591's picture

The group on the left are not Americans, its simply not possible to do this to your country.  Comey is a pile of shit and belongs in jail!