Peter Smith's death was ruled a suicide, and that should be believed, friend says
BOCA RATON – Larry Horist, who now lives in Boca Raton, Florida was a conservative Republican that for years was active in Chicago political circles. Last week, he wrote a tribute on his Facebook page about an old friend that found his way into headlines when he was found dead in a Minneapolis apartment.
The person Horist wrote about was Chicagoan Peter Smith, who had just told a Wall Street Journal reporter he tried to obtain Hillary Clinton's emails from Russian hackers in the last weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign. Smith's death in May was ruled a suicide last week and launched a conspiracy theory that Horist says should be ignored.
Smith, who became wealthy leading an acquisition firm in the 70s through the 90s, was involved with the Heritage Foundation, Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Brookings Institution. He served as national chairman of the College Young Republicans and in later years was involved in fundraising for the Republican National Committee, GOPAC, and candidate and state party organizations, his obituary said.
Anyone that knew Smith personally like Horist did would know that Smith's suicide wasn't the fault of the Clintons' like hysterical rumor mills portrayed, he said.
"This seemed so much in character," Horist wrote. "He made a very rational decision based on the facts, and allowed himself to slip away in a quiet and peaceful manner."
Horist's tribute as posted on Facebook and used by his permission:
Another old friend has passed. It is ironic that this very quiet wealthy man, who liked to maintain his privacy would become the subject of national news in his final days.
Peter Smith was a dedicated patriot who used his money to support the causes in which he believed. Much of his wealth was expended on organizations and issues that were widely regarded as good causes. Groups with which I was involved, such as the City Club of Chicago and the Public Policy Caucuses were beneficiaries of his generosity. His most endearing quality was his quiet demeanor and rational thinking. Even in the most tense situations, Peter never raised his voice or flung insults or accusations. He valued the advice of everyone.
He did gain a bit of notoriety for funding the effort to bring the indiscretions of President Bill Clinton to the surface. Through Peter, I was able to bring the Arkansas troopers to Chicago for a series of meetings and briefings. My wife and I had a private dinner with the troopers and were stunned by their many stories – which later surfaced in the press and in the [Clinton] impeachment hearings.
In these latter days, Peter used his money to try to secure the missing Clinton emails from any of several sources that reportedly had them. Of course that has not yet happened.
Peter ended his own life in a hotel room in Minnesota, where he had visited the Mayo Clinic. At 81 years old, his health was in serious decline. In his suicide note, he also explained that a $5 million insurance policy benefiting his family was about to lapse. He took his life by suffocating himself with helium.
This seemed so much in character. He made a very rational decision based on the facts, and allowed himself to slip away in a quiet and peaceful manner.
I am sure some of the nut case conspiratorial theorists will try to attribute his passing to some baseless intrigue. That was not the case.
It was always a pleasure to be in Peter’s company. He will be missed.
