On August 28, 2016, Smith sent an email from an encrypted account with the subject “Sec. Clinton’s unsecured private email server” to an undisclosed list of recipients, including Campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis. The email stated that Smith was “[j]ust finishing two days of sensitive meetings here in DC with involved groups to poke and probe on the above. It is clear that the Clinton’s home-based, unprotected server was hacked with ease by both State-related players, and private mercenaries. Parties with varying interests, are circling to 274 release ahead of the election.” On September 2, 2016, Smith directed a business associate to establish KLS 275 Research LLC in furtherance of his search for the deleted Clinton emails. One of the purposes of KLS Research was to manage the funds Smith raised in 276 support of his initiative. KLS Research received over $30,000 during the presidential campaign, although Smith represented that he raised even more 277 money. Smith recruited multiple people for his initiative, including security experts 278 to search for and authenticate the emails. In early September 2016, as part of his recruitment and fundraising effort, Smith circulated a document stating that his initiative was “in coordination” with the Trump Campaign, “to the extent 279 permitted as an independent expenditure organization.” The document listed multiple individuals affiliated with the Trump Campaign, including Flynn, 280 Clovis, Bannon, and Kellyanne Conway. The investigation established that Smith communicated with at least Flynn and Clovis about his search for the 281 deleted Clinton emails, but the Office did not identify evidence that any of the listed individuals initiated or directed Smith’s efforts. In September 2016, Smith and Ledeen got back in touch with each other about their respective efforts. Ledeen wrote to Smith, “wondering if you had some more detailed reports or memos or other data you could share because we have come a long way in our efforts since we last visited. . . . We would need as much technical discussion as possible so we could marry it against the new data 282 we have found and then could share it back to you ‘your eyes only.’” Ledeen claimed to have obtained a trove of emails (from what she described as the “dark web”) that purported to be the deleted Clinton emails. Ledeen