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[Daria]

A Republican donor and operative from Chicago's North Shore who said he had tried to obtain Hillary Clinton's missing emails from Russian hackers killed himself in a Minnesota hotel room days after talking to The Wall Street Journal about his efforts, public records show.

In a room at a Rochester hotel used almost exclusively by Mayo Clinic patients and relatives, Peter W. Smith, 81, left a carefully prepared file of documents, which includes a statement police called a suicide note in which he said he was in ill health and a life insurance policy was expiring.

Days earlier, the financier from suburban Lake Forest gave an interview to the Journal about his quest, and it published stories about his efforts beginning in late June. The Journal also reported it had seen emails written by Smith showing his team considered retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, then a top adviser to Republican Donald Trump's campaign, as an ally. Flynn briefly was President Trump's national security adviser and resigned after it was determined he had failed to disclose contacts with Russia.

At the time, the newspaper reported Smith's May 14 death came about 10 days after he granted the interview. Mystery shrouded how and where he had died, but the lead reporter on the stories said on a podcast he had no reason to believe the death was the result of foul play and that Smith likely had died of natural causes.

However, the Chicago Tribune obtained a Minnesota state death record filed in Olmsted County that says Smith committed suicide in a hotel near the Mayo Clinic at 1:17 p.m. on Sunday, May 14. He was found with a bag over his head with a source of helium attached. A medical examiner's report gives the same account, without specifying the time, and a report from Rochester police further details his suicide.

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.

Smith told the Journal he believed the missing emails might have had been obtained by Russian hackers. He also said he thought the correspondence related to Clinton's official duties. He told the Journal he worked independently and was not part of the Trump campaign. He also told the Journal he and his team found five groups of hackers — two of them Russian groups — who claimed to have Clinton's missing emails.

people connected to Russia seem to be dying at an alarming rate. more at the link

 

[Impeccable]

81 and suicide, sadness.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

Uhhh, wouldnt suicide void a life insurance policy?

 

[Guy.brush]

 

[Shauni]

Oh boy, I feel this is going to blow up because a lot of people aren't going to read the whole thing.

 

[Daria]

Uhhh, wouldnt suicide void a life insurance policy?

this was my question when I read the article. especially with a note admitting to suicide due to it expiring. it's very odd

 

[Jackpot]

people connected to Russia seem to be dying at an alarming rate.

Even if in jest, we do not need our own Seth Rich conspiracy. The article is very detailed about the suicide and it seems to be completely unrelated to his dirt-digging and instead centred on his ill-health.

 

[Foffy]

Will the alt-right Trumpeteers assume this is another Seth Rich conspiracy to hide the truth via death?

I know it states the reasons in the OP, but that didn't stop them with Seth Rich. :/

 

[Quivering Quim]

Uhhh, wouldnt suicide void a life insurance policy?

Depends on the policy and the company I think.

 

[Vincent Alexander]

I thought life insurance wasn't paid out if you commit suicide? Was part of his plan for this to make sure someone still got part of that before he passed and it lapsed?

I really don't know much about him or his story with GOP. RIP though.

Depends on the policy and the company I think.

Ah. Never mind then.

 

[Shauni]

Uhhh, wouldnt suicide void a life insurance policy?

No, some life insurance policies have an expiration period for suicide. If he had this policy for awhile, the clause was probably expired

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Uhhh, wouldnt suicide void a life insurance policy?

Yeah lol. Pretty sure that's standard. And him explicitly stating he's killing himself to ensure it doesn't expire makes it that much easier for an insurance company to deny a claim.

Edit: I see, fair enough. But I'm sure they might try to fight it given the explicit reasoning for the suicide in part.

 

[Lil Marco]

when people start offing themselves you know for a fact that there is smoke and fire

 

[jack_package_200]

Uhhh, wouldnt suicide void a life insurance policy?

I would assume it would.

Perhaps not?

Yeah lol. Pretty sure that's standard. And him explicitly stating he's killing himself to ensure it doesn't expire makes it that much easier for an insurance company to deny a claim.

Its real goddamn fishy

 

[Ryzaki009]

Yeah I could've sworn suicide was one of the things that voided your life insurance...

 

[Kensation]

Hannity's gonna go HAM on this.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

Uhhh, wouldnt suicide void a life insurance policy?

Not necessarily! I don't think mine does.

 

[Suikoguy]

No, some life insurance policies have an expiration period for suicide. If he had this policy for awhile, the clause was probably expired

Uh, they have a what?

That seems to me to encourage suicide.

 

[Shauni]

Yeah lol. Pretty sure that's standard. And him explicitly stating he's killing himself to ensure it doesn't expire makes it that much easier for an insurance company to deny a claim.

Edit: I see, fair enough. But I'm sure they might try to fight it given the explicit reasoning for the suicide in part.

I mean, they can't fight it really, it's basically like a contract.

 

[Dhx]

Suicide clause is limited. It usually is about 2 years from when the policy takes effect. At 81, it probably expired long ago.

 

[skullmuffins]

Uh, they have a what?

That seems to me to encourages suicide.

They'll have a clause that says they won't pay out in cases of suicide for, say, 5 years after you first get the policy. If you have had the policy for 20 years and then commit suicide, you're covered.

 

[NullPointer]

For those who didn't follow this story too closely keep in mind that the big Wall Street Journal story about him digging for dirt wasn't some kind of regretful deathbed confessional on his part. According to the WSJ reporter - when interviewed on Maddow - Mr. Smith was proud of his work trying to get those Hillary emails, and saw nothing wrong in how he want about it.

 

[Shauni]

Uh, they have a what?

That seems to me to encourage suicide.

Some life insurance policies have a certain amount of years that your payout will be voided due to suicide, but after those amount of years pass (let's say 3 years), it still pays out even on suicide.

Edit: Yeah, as explained above.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Uh, they have a what?

That seems to me to encourage suicide.

The clause typically sunsets after a length of time considered adequate to discourage people from getting a policy JUST to kill themselves and get a payout for their family, but given suicidal depression is a thing that can have an onset after one gets a policy, it seems as though it would be cruel to exclude it, imo.

 

[Crosseyes]

Uh, they have a what?

That seems to me to encourage suicide.

I can't fathom that. It's like capitalism at a parody level.

"This is a lucrative... business... decision..." *dead*

 

[uncelestial]

Is there a good rundown of Russian-interference-related deaths from a reputable source?

 

[Random Human]

Is that a common method of suicide? I've never heard of such a thing - it sounds like something out of a movie.

 

[Tuber]

Uh, they have a what?

That seems to me to encourage suicide.

That is, you can take out the policy, but it doesn't cover suicide for X years to ensure you're not just getting the policy to give a payout for a planned suicide.

 

[Lo-Volt]

Life Insurance does, sometimes, get paid out over deaths by suicide.

The "suicide clause." Usually, this clause states that no death benefit will be paid if the insured commits suicide within two years of taking out a policy. Whenever an insured person replaces an existing life insurance policy with a new one, the time clock for the suicide clause is set back to zero and starts over again.

That is not a blanket denial.

I got beat so hard on that point it was like a damn blue shell. But I still find this so suspicious, no matter what the WSJ thought of his state of mind. This is too interesting of a chain of events to be innocuous.

 

[Ryzaki009]

Suicide clause is limited. It usually is about 2 years from when the policy takes effect. At 81, it probably expired long ago.

Oh okay that makes a lot more sense.

 

[Shauni]

It should also be noted that unlike the other Russian related deaths, this guy seemingly had no direct ties with Russia. I mean, maybe something will come out about that, but I think this as a suicide isn't that out there. The method is odd, but the full article explains how it's not a unique case for people who want a painless death without any risk of somehow fucking up shooting themselves

 

[Noobcraft]

I didn't even know you could have life insurance into your 80's.

 

[Shauni]

Is that a common method of suicide? I've never heard of such a thing - it sounds like something out of a movie.

As the full article states, it's not common, but it's not unheard of either

 

[Shauni]

I didn't even know you could have life insurance into your 80's.

Of course you can? Why couldn't you? If you have the money to pay anyway, and he could have had this plan for a significant amount of time.

 

[Deuce Deuce]

Probably just a coincidence.

Nah just playing!

 

[Hollycat]

Uhhh, wouldnt suicide void a life insurance policy?

Some policies will allow suicide if the person has been paying premiums on the account for at least two years

 

[PanicFreak]

Not necessarily! I don't think mine does.

Yay!?!??? :shrug:

 

[Struct09]

Next season of Fargo to be set in 2016 Rochester, MN

 

[Ardenyal]

Good thing he cleared up he didn't accidentally trip and fall head first into a plastic bag.

What an odd way to off yourself.

 

[Zubz]

Oh boy, I feel this is going to blow up because a lot of people aren't going to read the whole thing.

To be fair, the primary reason for this is hella suspect. I also fear there'll be a lot of conspiracies thrown around in every direction for something that could just be a "Death of a Salesman" style misunderstanding of life insurance, though. Or he might just have surprisingly good coverage none of us could dream of having.

Either way, he was likely an abhorrent person based on the one other action I know he did being an attempt to torpedo the Clinton campaign & corral this conservative Constitutional chaos. And I have no trust for anyone that considers Flynn an ally. That said, suicide's always sad, especially at 81. I feel guilty for saying it, but RIP.

 

[Escape Goat]

WAS NOT MURDERED, KILLARY CLINTON DEFINITELY DIDN'T KILL ME. DO NOT INVESTIGATE CLINTON. NO SIR.

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

WAS NOT MURDERED, KILLARY CLINTON DEFINITELY DIDN'T KILL ME. DO NOT INVESTIGATE CLINTON. NO SIR.

Couldn't you say the same thing but interject the name Putin?

 

[Mael]

The crazy thing is that the GOP probably did more to make sure his health-related debt would push him to suicide than anything else.
Chalk it up to Breaking Bad situation where this is really a scenario in the US :/

 

[Earendil]

Suicide clause is limited. It usually is about 2 years from when the policy takes effect. At 81, it probably expired long ago.

It also depends on the state. Some states have different rules, but in any case, I would think that the suicide clause would have expired well before now if the policy itself was set to expire.

 

[facelike]

A bag on the head attached to helium.....

This could be a real suicide as people up in age will do that. But that is just a little suspect, right?

 

[Maximo]

when people start offing themselves you know for a fact that there is smoke and fire

Lets not do this unless there is evidence to suggest there was a outside force with his death then we shouldn't go all tin hat theory.

 

[IamDodongo]

A bag on the head attached to helium.....

This could be a real suicide as people up in age will do that. But that is just a little suspect, right?

The timing is pretty incredible, if this is coincidence. I feel like I'm living history lately.

 

[Kusagari]

His name was Peter Smith.

I disagreed with his politics, but nobody deserves to be murdered by Putin and Trump.

JUSTICE FOR PETER!

 

[F0rneus]

A bag on the head attached to helium.....

This could be a real suicide as people up in age will do that. But that is just a little suspect, right?

The entire thing reads as suspect. Suicide note or not.

 

[Affeinvasion]

But what was making him ill in the first place? Too much polonium in his diet?