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A Republican opposition researcher with a potential connection to President Trump's former national security adviser Mike Flynn tried to obtain emails he thought were stolen from Hillary Clinton's email server, according to a new report.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the GOP operative, Peter W. Smith implied to people he sought to recruit to participate in his mission to access the stolen emails that he was working with Flynn, who was then a national security adviser to then-candidate Trump.

The Journal said the stolen emails in question were likely hacked by Russians.

The newspaper reported that emails written by Smith and one of his associates show Flynn and his consulting company, Flynn Intel Group, were allies in their effort.

Flynn's actual role in the project is unknown, the Journal reports. Smith told the Journal he knew Flynn but didn't say if he was involved. Smith, 81, died about a week and a half after his interview with the Journal, the report notes.

A Trump campaign official told the Journal that Smith never worked for them, and if Flynn coordinated with Smith, it would have been in his private capacity.

The Journal reports that U.S. investigators, as part of the probe of Russia's election interference, have examined reports from intelligence agencies that describe Russian hackers discussing how to obtain emails from Clinton's server and then give them to Flynn through an intermediary.

Smith was targeting 33,000 emails that Clinton said were deleted and not provided to investigators because they were personal. Smith thought the emails might have been obtained by hackers and that they actually concerned official matters Clinton wanted to hide.

The Journal said Smith gave no evidence for his speculation.

Former FBI Director James Comey has said there is no evidence Clinton's private server has been hacked, but he left open the possibility it might have been.

Flynn is a central figure of investigations into Russia election interference and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Flynn was fired from his role as national security adviser after admitting he had misled the vice president and other White House officials about the contents of a phone call he had with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. weeks before Trump's inauguration.

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Republican operative tied to Mike Flynn tried to obtain Hillary Clinton's emails: Report - Washington Examiner