Murder of Seth Rich

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Murder of Seth Rich
DateJuly 10, 2016 (2016-07-10)
Time4:20 a.m. EST (approximate)
LocationBloomingdale neighborhood
(Ward 5, Washington, D.C.)
CauseShooting
InquiriesMetropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia
CoronerOffice of the Chief Medical Examiner, Washington D.C.

Seth Conrad Rich (January 3, 1989 – July 10, 2016) was an American employee of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) who was fatally shot in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C.[1][2][3] As of May 2017, the shooting was still under investigation by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.[4]

The murder spawned several right-wing conspiracy theories, including the false claim that Rich had been involved with the leaked DNC emails in 2016, contradicted by the July 2018 indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence agents for hacking the e-mail accounts and networks of Democratic Party officials[5] and by the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion the leaked DNC emails were part of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[6][7][8] Law enforcement[6][7] as well as fact-checking websites like PolitiFact.com,[7][9] Snopes.com,[10] and FactCheck.org stated that these theories were false and unfounded.[6] The New York Times,[11] Los Angeles Times,[12] and The Washington Post called the fabrications fake news and falsehoods.[13]

Rich's parents condemned the conspiracy theorists and said that these individuals were exploiting their son's death for political gain, and their spokesperson called the conspiracy theorists "disgusting sociopaths".[14][15][16] They requested a retraction and apology from Fox News after the network promoted the conspiracy theory,[17] and sent a cease and desist letter to the investigator Fox News used.[7][16][17] The investigator stated that he had no evidence to back up the claims which Fox News attributed to him.[6][7][18] Fox News issued a retraction, but did not apologize or publicly explain what went wrong.[19] In return, the Rich family filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News in March 2018,[20] which was dismissed in August 2018, when a judge ruled that the plaintiffs failed to prove "extreme and outrageous" conduct by the defendants under the legal standard.[21]

Seth Rich's early life and career

Rich grew up in a Jewish family in Omaha, Nebraska.[22][23][24] He volunteered for the Nebraska Democratic Party, interned for Senator Ben Nelson, was active in Jewish outreach,[25] and worked with the United States Census Bureau.[26][27] In 2011, he graduated from Creighton University with a degree in political science.[28][27] He moved to Washington, D.C. to work for pollster Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.[27] In 2014 he began working for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) as the Voter Expansion Data Director. One of his tasks at the DNC was the development of a computer application to help voters locate polling stations.[29][30][31]

Shooting and death

On Sunday, July 10, 2016, at 4:20 a.m., Rich was shot about a block from his apartment in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C.[32][33][34]

Earlier that night he had been at Lou's City Bar, a sports pub 1.8 miles (2.9 km) from his apartment, in Columbia Heights, where he was a regular customer. He left when the bar was closing, at about 1:30 or 1:45 a.m.[35] Police were alerted to gunfire at 4:20 a.m. by an automated gunfire locator.[34][36] Within approximately one minute after the gun shots, police officers found Rich conscious with multiple gunshot wounds.[37] He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died.[38][39][40] According to police, he died from two shots to the back[32][33] and may have been killed in an attempted robbery, noting that the neighborhood had recently been plagued by robberies.[32] Rich's mother told NBC's Washington affiliate WRC-TV, "There had been a struggle. His hands were bruised, his knees are bruised, his face is bruised, and yet he had two shots to his back, and yet they never took anything... They didn't finish robbing him, they just took his life."[41] The police told the family they had located a surveillance recording showing a glimpse of the legs of two people who could possibly be the killers.[42]

Aftermath

On the day after the shooting, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued a statement mourning his loss and praising Rich's work to support voter rights.[36][43] Two days after the shooting, Hillary Clinton spoke of his death during a speech advocating limiting the availability of guns.[29][23]

Bike rack and plaque outside the DNC headquarters

In September 2016, Rich's parents and girlfriend appeared on the syndicated television show Crime Watch Daily to speak about the murder case.[44][45] In October 2016, a plaque and bike rack outside the DNC headquarters were dedicated to Rich's memory.[43] In February 2017, the Beth El Synagogue in Omaha named after Rich an existing scholarship that helps Jewish children attend summer camps.[46]

The Rich family accepted the pro bono public relations services of Republican lobbyist Jack Burkman in September 2016.[12] The Rich family and Burkman held a joint press conference on the murder in November 2016.[12][47] In January 2017, Burkman launched an advertising campaign in Northwest D.C. searching for information regarding Seth's death. This included billboard advertisements and canvassing with flyers.[48][49] In late February, Burkman told media outlets he had a lead that the Russian government was involved in Rich's death,[50] and the Rich family then distanced itself from Burkman.[51] On March 19, 2017, Rich's brother, Aaron, started a GoFundMe campaign to try to raise $200,000 for private investigation, public outreach activities, and a reward fund.[52]

The Rich family was approached by Ed Butowsky (a friend of Trump advisor Steve Bannon and a frequent Fox News contributor), who recommended having Fox News contributor and former homicide detective Rod Wheeler investigate Seth's murder. Butowsky said Wheeler had been recommended to him. The family gave Wheeler permission to investigate, though they did not hire him.[16][53] When questioned by CNN, Butowsky denied involvement in the case, but later admitted he was involved and had offered to pay Wheeler's fees.[54][55] After Wheeler asserted links between Rich and Wikileaks in a Fox affiliate interview on May 15, 2017—an assertion he later backpedaled from[56]—the family spokesman said that the family regretted working with Wheeler.[4] Wheeler then sued Fox News on August 1, 2017, for mental anguish and emotional distress, alleging that he had been misquoted in a story that was then published on the urging of Trump.[57]

Rewards

The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC) posted its customary reward of $25,000 for information about the death.[29][37]

On August 9, 2016, WikiLeaks announced a $20,000 reward for information about Rich's murder leading to a conviction,[58][59][60] although Rich's family said they were unable to verify this reward offer.[61] WikiLeaks stated that this offer should not be taken as implying Rich had been involved in leaking information to them.[29]

In November 2016, Republican lobbyist Jack Burkman said he was personally offering a $100,000 reward in addition to those announced by the police department and WikiLeaks, and he added another $5,000 to his offer in December and another $25,000 in January.[61][62][42] Burkman said he hoped the money would help "get to the truth of what happened here and will either debunk the conspiracy theories or validate them".[63]

Conspiracy theories

Origins

Right-wing conspiracy theories began circulating in the days following Rich's death,[64][65][66] including false claims that his murder was connected to the DNC email leak of 2016,[4] or the FBI's investigation of the Clinton Foundation.[67][66] A post on Twitter before Rich's memorial service originated the idea that his killing was a political assassination.[64] Subsequently, the conspiracy theory was spread on the subreddit /r/The Donald, and on July 29, 2016, the website Heat Street reported on these Reddit posts.[67][68] Reddit users attempted to tie the homicide to prior "Clinton Body Count" conspiracy theories.[65] The conspiracy theory was later popularized by Donald Trump political adviser Roger Stone via his Twitter account.[64]

According to the British journalist, Duncan Campbell, the Russian intelligence agency, GRU, tried to implicate Rich as the source of the stolen DNC emails, in order to draw attention away from themselves. Datestamps on the DNC files were altered to show the data had been obtained July 5, 2016, five days before Rich's death, and the timezone was changed to Eastern Time, which Washington, D.C. falls within. Guccifer 2.0, the alleged GRU front that provided the emails to Wikileaks, then reported that Rich had been their source. Based partly on their acceptance of the false dates, some experts then concluded that the emails had been copied in the DNC offices, and had not been hacked from outside.[69]

WikiLeaks statements

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, fueled the speculation in an interview with Nieuwsuur published on August 9, 2016, which touched on the topic of risks faced by WikiLeaks' sources.[70] Unbidden, Assange brought up the case of Seth Rich. When asked directly whether Rich was a source, Assange nodded, then said "we don't comment on who our sources are".[71] Subsequent statements by WikiLeaks emphasized that the organization was not naming Rich as a source.[29] For context, Assange was well known as a longtime critic of Clinton,[72] and it subsequently came to light that WikiLeaks communicated with the Trump campaign over other issues, casting doubt on Assange's motivation.[73]

In April 2018, Twitter direct messages revealed that even as Assange was suggesting publicly that WikiLeaks had obtained emails from Seth Rich, Assange was trying to obtain more emails from the hacker Guccifer 2.0, who was at the time suspected of being linked to Russian intelligence. BuzzFeed described the messages as "the starkest proof yet that Assange knew a likely Russian government hacker had the Democrat leaks he wanted. And they reveal the deliberate bad faith with which Assange fed the groundless claims that Rich was his source, even as he knew the documents' origin."[74] WikiLeaks' supporters on social media argued Assange's actions were consistent with WikiLeaks' mission.[75]

Spread by social media and right wing

These conspiracy theories were promoted by Mike Cernovich, Sean Hannity, Geraldo Rivera, Kim Dotcom, Paul Joseph Watson, Newt Gingrich, Jack Posobiec, and others.[76][77][78]

The same venues that fomented the false Pizzagate conspiracy theory helped to promulgate the Seth Rich murder conspiracy theories,[79][80][12] and each shared similar features.[81][82][83] Both were promoted by individuals subscribing to far-right politics,[84] and by campaign officials and individuals appointed to senior-level national security roles by Donald Trump.[85][86][87] After prior coordination on Facebook, each theory was spread on Twitter by automated bots using a branded hashtag, with the goal of becoming a trending topic.[79] Both the Pizzagate conspiracy theory and the Seth Rich murder conspiracy theory were spread in the subreddit forum /r/The Donald.[88] In both conspiracy theories, the promoters attempted to shift the burden of proof — asking others to attempt to disprove their claims, without citing substantiated evidence.[89] Slate's Elliot Hannon called the claims about Seth Rich a "PizzaGate-like conspiracy theory surrounding Rich's death",[90] The Huffington Post described it as "the 'alt-right' idiocy of Pizzagate all over again",[83] NPR's David Folkenflik said Fox News coverage of it "evokes the pizza-gate terrible allegations utterly unfounded",[91] and Margaret Sullivan wrote for The Washington Post: "The Seth Rich lie has become the new Comet Ping Pong ... Crazy, baseless and dangerous."[92]

Debunking

The conspiracy theories have been debunked by law enforcement,[6][7] as well as by fact-checking websites like PolitiFact.com,[7][9] Snopes.com,[10] and FactCheck.org.[6][failed verification]

The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia described the murder as related to a bungled attempted robbery,[6] and said "the assertions put forward by Mr. Wheeler are unfounded."[6] The FBI told PolitiFact.com that the MPD was investigating the homicide.[9]

Assistant Police Chief Peter Newsham said the police had no information suggesting a connection between Rich's death and data obtained by WikiLeaks.[29]

People who worked with Rich said he was not an expert computer hacker helping to leak information to foreigners. Andrew Therriault, a data scientist who had mentored Rich, said although he had recently been working as a programmer, this "wasn't his background", and another co-worker said Rich was very upset when he heard hackers associated with Russian intelligence services had broken into the DNC computers and could be interfering with the election.[42]

Rich family representative, Brad Bauman, responding to the conspiracy theorists' claim that the FBI was investigating the case said, "The FBI is not now and has never been a party to this investigation."[6]

FactCheck.org analyzed statements by Newt Gingrich related to the conspiracy theory, where Gingrich said Rich "apparently was assassinated" subsequent to "having given WikiLeaks something like … 53,000 [DNC] emails and 17,000 attachments".[6] FactCheck.org determined this claim was "unsupported" and determined "there's no evidence for his claim."[6]

PolitiFact.com said the assertion that Rich gave emails to WikiLeaks is a "baseless claim", concluding "Gingrich and others are talking about an unfounded conspiracy theory as if it's a matter of fact. It is far from it. We rate his claim Pants on Fire."[7] In a separate analysis, PolitiFact.com concluded: "There's no evidence there's any link between Rich and WikiLeaks. The FBI has indirectly denied investigating the case, which Washington police consider a robbery gone wrong."[9]

Snopes.com looked into the matter and stated: "We were able to confirm the FBI is not investigating Rich's murder — it is an MPD investigation." Snopes contacted a spokesman for the Washington, D.C. mayor's office, who said, "All claims made by Mr. Wheeler are false and take fake news to a whole new level. The family deserves better and everyday MPD continues to work diligently to solve this case."[10] Snopes rated the claim "DNC staffer Seth Rich sent 'thousands of leaked e-mails' to WikiLeaks before he was murdered" as "False".[10]

The fabrications were described as fake news and falsehoods by The New York Times.[11] The New York Times cited the conspiracy theories as an example of the persistence of false claims, concluding: "fake news dies hard".[11] The Los Angeles Times called the conspiracy theories "unsubstantiated rumors".[12]

The Washington Post cited the conspiracy theories as an example of the power of fake news to spread virally online.[13] The paper used the example as a case study of the persistence of fake news, and found that television news media can be a soft target for such false stories.[13] The Washington Post further found that the proliferation of fake news via Facebook had decreased, but remained powerful on Twitter due to spread via online bots.[13] They found that the conspiracy theories with the largest potential to spread on the Internet were those that held attraction for both the alt-right movements and the political left wing.[13] The Washington Post concluded that even if a particular false story had been sufficiently debunked, such fact-checking was unable to stop the spread of the falsehoods online.[13]

Fox News retracted reporting

Uncorroborated story

On May 15, 2017, Fox 5 DC (WTTG) reported the uncorroborated and later largely retracted[93] claims by Rod Wheeler, a Fox News contributor and former homicide detective, that there was evidence Seth Rich had contacted WikiLeaks and that law enforcement were covering this up;[94][93] claims that were never independently verified by Fox.[95] The next day, Fox News published a lead story on its website and provided extensive coverage on its cable news channel about what it later said were Wheeler's uncorroborated claims about the murder of Seth Rich;[96][97][98] in the lead story Fox News removed from their website a few days later, they stated that Wheeler's claims had been "corroborated by a federal investigator who spoke to Fox News."[99][100][101] In reporting these claims, the Fox News report re-ignited conspiracy theories about the killing.[81][102][103] According to NPR, within a day of the original Fox report, "Google searches for Rich had overtaken searches for James Comey, even amid continuous news about the former FBI director's conversations with Trump."[89] The Washington Post's Callum Borchers noted Fox News chose to lead with this story at a time when most other media outlets were covering Donald Trump's disclosure of classified information to Russia.[97]

Other news organizations revealed Wheeler was a Donald Trump supporter, a paid Fox News contributor, and according to NBC News had "developed a reputation for making outlandish claims, such as one appearance on Fox News in 2007 in which he warned that underground networks of pink pistol-toting lesbian gangs were raping young women".[102][104][4] The Washington Post noted it is "rare for a news organization to have such a close relationship with the people it is covering", as Wheeler was "playing three roles at once: as a Fox source, as a paid contributor to the network and as a supposedly independent investigator of the murder".[81] When Wheeler appeared on Sean Hannity's Fox News shows, these multiple roles were not disclosed to viewers.[81] After Wheeler's Fox News interview on May 15, 2017, Brad Bauman, a communications professional and spokesman for the Rich family, said the family was asking Fox News and the Fox affiliate to retract their reports and apologize for damaging their son's legacy.[4]

The family spokesperson, the Washington, D.C. police department, the Washington, D.C. mayor's office, the FBI, and law enforcement sources familiar with the case all disputed Wheeler's claims.[102][105] The family said, "We are a family who is committed to facts, not fake evidence that surfaces every few months to fill the void and distract law enforcement and the general public from finding Seth's murderers."[102] Bauman criticized Fox News for its reporting, saying he believed that the outlet was motivated by a desire to deflect attention from the Trump-Russia story: "I think there's a very special place in hell for people that would use the memory of a murder victim in order to pursue a political agenda."[10]

Later that day, Wheeler told CNN he had no evidence that Rich had contacted Wikileaks.[93] Wheeler claimed that Fox had presented his quotes misleadingly and that he only learned about the possible existence of the evidence from a Fox News reporter.[93][89] Despite this, Sean Hannity's show and Fox & Friends continued to promote the conspiracy theory for the remainder of the week.[106][107] Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Geraldo Rivera took part in spreading the conspiracy.[107][108][109] Hannity had on his program Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch, who said the organization filed Freedom of Information Act requests for documents from Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, and from the Metropolitan Police.[110] Sean Hannity furthermore promoted the uncorroborated claims of Kim Dotcom, a New Zealand resident sought by the United States on fraud charges who claimed without evidence that Rich had been in contact with him before his death.[111] Fox News host Julie Roginsky was critical of the conspiracy theory peddlers, stating on Twitter and on her television show: "The exploitation of a dead man whose family has begged conspiracy theorists to stop is really egregious. Please stop."[112] Fox News was also criticized by conservative outlets, such as the Weekly Standard,[113] National Review,[114][115] and Red State,[116][117][118] and conservative columnists, such as Jennifer Rubin,[119] Michael Gerson,[120] and John Podhoretz.[121] In September 2017, NPR noted that Fox News had yet to apologize for its false story or explain what went wrong; "When a story of this scale crumbles, most news organizations feel obligated to explain what happened and why. Not so far at Fox."[19]

Cease and desist letter and retraction

On May 19, 2017, an attorney for the Rich family sent a cease and desist letter to Wheeler.[17]

Fox News issued a retraction of the story on May 23, 2017 and removed the original article, and did not apologize or specify what went wrong or how it did so.[18][122][123] Despite this, Hannity, who pushed the theory, remained unapologetic, saying "I retracted nothing" and "I am not going to stop trying to find the truth."[124][111][123] In their May 23 statement, Fox News said, "The article was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting. Upon appropriate review, the article was found not to meet those standards and has since been removed."[124] Media ethics writer Kelly McBride criticized the retraction as "woefully inadequate", writing that it did not specify exactly what was inaccurate, or provide correct information in place of the retracted story.[125]

On May 23, 2017, Sean Hannity stated on his television program that he would cease discussing the issue.[126] Hannity said his decision to cease commenting on the matter was related to the family of the murder victim: "Out of respect for the family's wishes, for now, I am not discussing the matter at this time."[126] In the same statement wherein he promised to cease discussion of the topic, he vowed to pursue facts in the future: "I promise you I am not going to stop trying to find the truth."[126] Several advertisers including Crowne Plaza Hotels, Cars.com, Leesa Mattress, USAA, Peloton and Casper Sleep pulled their marketing from his program on Fox News.[127][128][129] Crowne Plaza Hotels later said that it was not their policy to advertise on political commentary shows, and had not been aware of their sponsorship of the show.[130] USAA soon returned to advertising on Fox News after receiving customer input.[131]

Wheeler lawsuit

On August 1, 2017, Rod Wheeler, the private investigator hired by Butowsky who was the first to claim links between Seth Rich's murder and the DNC hack on Fox, but who later appeared to retract his claims, filed a lawsuit (Case 1:17-cv-05807 Southern District of New York), in which 21st Century Fox, the Fox News Channel, Fox News reporter Malia Zimmerman and Ed Butowsky are named as defendants, stating that quotes attributed to him in the original Fox News piece were fabricated. The lawsuit also alleges that the fabricated quotes were included in the Fox News story at the urging of the Trump White House.[132][133]

Text messages and audio apparently supporting this assertion were included in the filing of the lawsuit. About a month before the story was aired on Fox News, Wheeler and Butowsky met at the White House with the White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer to review the planned story on Seth Rich's murder. After talking to Wheeler and Butowsky, Zimmerman sent Wheeler a draft of a story without any quotes from Wheeler on May 11. On May 14 Butowsky texted Wheeler saying "Not to add any more pressure but the president just read the article. He wants the article out immediately. It's now all up to you. But don't feel the pressure." Butowsky also left a voicemail for Wheeler which said "We have the full, uh, attention of the White House on this. And tomorrow, let's close this deal, whatever we've got to do."[133] Butowsky said Seymour Hersh confirmed a link between Rich and the FBI. Hersh confirmed the conversation with Butowsky but told NPR the link was "gossip" and that Butowsky exaggerated its significance.[132]

In an email to Fox News Butowsky also wrote about the purpose behind the Seth Rich story: "One of the big conclusions we need to draw from this is that the Russians did not hack our computer systems and ste[a]l emails and there was no collusion (between) Trump and the Russians." He also instructed Wheeler that "[T]he narrative in the interviews you might use is that you and [Zimmerman's] work prove that the Russians didn't hack into the DNC and steal the emails and impact our elections (...) If you can, try to highlight this puts the Russian hacking story to rest."[133]

When the story aired on Fox News, it included supposed quotes from Wheeler and was written as if the accusations against the DNC came from him. Wheeler alleges that the quotes were fabricated and should not have been attributed to him.[132]

In later recordings Butowsky told Wheeler that the claims being attributed to him were false but says that "One day you're going to win an award for having said those things you didn't say." He also says "I know that's not true, if I'm under oath, I would say I never heard him say that."[133]

Judge George B. Daniels dismissed this lawsuit in August 2018.[21]

Family's reactions

In May 2017, Seth Rich's brother Aaron Rich issued a statement saying, "We simply want to find his killers and grieve. Instead, we are stuck having to constantly fight against non-facts, baseless allegations, and general stupidity to defend my brother's name and legacy."[4]

The family spokesperson said "At this point, only people with transparent political agendas or sociopaths are still perpetuating Seth Rich conspiracies."[134]

His parents authored a piece in The Washington Post on May 23, 2017 titled: "We're Seth Rich's parents. Stop politicizing our son's murder," in which they wrote:

We are asking you to please consider our feelings and words. There are people who are using our beloved Seth's memory and legacy for their own political goals, and they are using your outrage to perpetuate our nightmare. We ask those purveying falsehoods to give us peace, and to give law enforcement the time and space to do the investigation they need to solve our son's murder.[14]

In March 2018, Rich's family filed a lawsuit against Fox News, Fox reporter Malia Zimmerman, and Fox contributor Ed Butowsky, for publishing a news report about Seth Rich. The suit alleges that the report fueled conspiracy theories about Rich's death and caused the family emotional distress.[135] Later that month Aaron sued Butowsky, America First Media, and The Washington Times for making unfounded claims about Aaron and his brother Seth.[136][137] Judge George B. Daniels dismissed the lawsuit in August 2018, stating that the case failed to prove "extreme and outrageous" conduct on the part of defendants, as that standard is determined under New York state law.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ Morton, Joseph (August 4, 2016). "D.C. police, family of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich urge anyone with information about murder to come forward". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  2. ^ Morton, Joseph (August 10, 2016). "WikiLeaks offers $20,000 reward for help finding Omaha native Seth Rich's killer". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved February 11, 2018. Rich had worked for the DNC for two years and helped develop a computer program to make it easier for people to find polling places on Election Day.
  3. ^ Kamp-Wright, Annette van de (July 20, 2016). "Seth Conrad Rich". The Jewish Press. Omaha. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Bromwich, Jonah Engel (May 17, 2017). "How the Murder of a D.N.C. Staffer Fueled Conspiracy Theories". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  5. ^ 12 Russians indicted in Mueller investigation. CNN.com, July 13, 2018
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kiely, Eugene (May 22, 2017). "Gingrich Spreads Conspiracy Theory". FactCheck.org. Annenberg Public Policy Center. Retrieved May 23, 2017. At this point in the investigation, it is believed that Seth Rich was the victim of an attempted robbery. The assertions put forward by Mr. Wheeler are unfounded.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Carroll, Lauren (May 23, 2017). Sanders, Katie (ed.). "The baseless claim that slain DNC staffer Seth Rich gave emails to WikiLeaks". PolitiFact.com. Tampa Bay Times. There is no trustworthy evidence supporting the theory that Rich was WikiLeaks' source for thousands of DNC emails. The police believe his death was the result of a botched robbery, not a political assassination.
  8. ^ "Cyber-spying: Bear on bear". The Economist. September 22, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d Gillin, Joshua (May 26, 2017). "Conspiracy theory that Comey hid Seth Rich's ties to WikiLeaks based on retracted story". PolitiFact.com.
  10. ^ a b c d e Palma, Bethania (May 16, 2017). "Fact Check: Did DNC Staffer Seth Rich Send 'Thousands of E-Mails' to WikiLeaks Before He Was Murdered?". Snopes.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017. We were able to confirm the FBI is not investigating Rich's murder — it is an MPD investigation... All claims made by Mr. Wheeler are false and take fake news to a whole new level. The family deserves better and everyday MPD continues to work diligently to solve this case.
  11. ^ a b c Rutenberg, Jim (May 24, 2017). "Sean Hannity, a Murder and Why Fake News Endures". The New York Times.
  12. ^ a b c d e Shalby, Colleen (May 24, 2017). "How Seth Rich's death became an Internet conspiracy theory". Los Angeles Times. Despite police statements and Rich's family concluding that his death was the result of an attempted robbery, the rumor spread within the same circles that churned out the bogus 'PizzaGate' story
  13. ^ a b c d e f Weigel, David (May 20, 2017). "The Seth Rich conspiracy shows how fake news still works". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  14. ^ a b Rich, Mary; Rich, Joel (May 23, 2017). "We're Seth Rich's parents. Stop politicizing our son's murder". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 23, 2017. We ask those purveying falsehoods to give us peace, and to give law enforcement the time and space to do the investigation they need to solve our son's murder.
  15. ^ "Seth Rich Parents Refute New Claims On Wikileaks Contact". The Forward. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  16. ^ a b c Stein, Perry (May 20, 2017). "Family of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich sends 'cease and desist' letter to Fox News contributor". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  17. ^ a b c Seitz-Wald, Alex (May 19, 2017). "Slain DNC Staffer's Family Orders Blabbing Detective to 'Cease and Desist". NBC News. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  18. ^ a b "Statement on coverage of Seth Rich murder investigation". Fox News. May 23, 2017. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. On May 16, a story was posted on the Fox News website on the investigation into the 2016 murder of DNC Staffer Seth Rich. The article was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting. Upon appropriate review, the article was found not to meet those standards and has since been removed. We will continue to investigate this story and will provide updates as warranted.
  19. ^ a b "No Apology, No Explanation: Fox News And The Seth Rich Story". NPR.org. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  20. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (March 13, 2018). "Family of Seth Rich Sues Fox News Over Retracted Article". The New York Times.
  21. ^ a b c Segers, Grace (August 2, 2018). "Seth Rich case against Fox News dismissed by federal judge". CBS. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  22. ^ "Rich, Seth C." Omaha World-Herald. July 13, 2016.
  23. ^ a b Hermann, Peter (July 12, 2016). "Hillary Clinton invokes name of slain DNC aide Seth Rich in calling for gun control". The Washington Post.
  24. ^ Parents of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich decry politicization of their son’s murder May 24, 2017, Jewish Telegraphic Agency
  25. ^ Seth Rich’s family calls on Fox to retract WikiLeaks allegations By Jewish Telegraphic Agency, in Times of Israel, May 19, 2017
  26. ^ Morton, Joseph (July 13, 2016). "27-year-old Creighton grad, DNC staffer shot dead in D.C. wanted 'to try to save the world'". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  27. ^ a b c Abraham, Rabbi Steven (July 22, 2016). "In Memoriam: Seth Conrad Rich". The Jewish Press. Omaha. Eulogy given by Rabbi Steven Abraham of Beth El Synagogue at the service on July 13, 2016.
  28. ^ Orti, Camila (July 12, 2016). "Creighton grad living in D.C. killed in weekend shooting". KETV. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  29. ^ a b c d e f Morton, Joseph (August 10, 2016). "WikiLeaks offers $20,000 reward for help finding Omaha native Seth Rich's killer". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  30. ^ Mallory Hughes (August 11, 2016). "DNC Employee Fatally Shot in DC". WUSA. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  31. ^ Rojas, Warren (July 11, 2016). "DNC Staffer Killed in DC". Roll Call.
  32. ^ a b c Stein, Jeff (August 20, 2016). "Seth Rich: Inside the Killing of the DNC Staffer". Newsweek.
  33. ^ a b (August 5, 2016). Mother, Police Seeking Tips on Killing of DNC Staffer Seth Rich, WRC-TV. retrieved August 22, 2016.
  34. ^ a b Shrier, Adam (July 11, 2016). "Democratic National Committee staffer killed in Washington, D.C. shooting". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  35. ^ Mindock, Clark (May 16, 2017). "Who is Seth Rich – and was his death really connected to Hillary Clinton?". The Independent. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  36. ^ a b Hermann, Peter; Williams, Clarence (July 11, 2016). "Slain Democratic National Committee staffer 'wanted to make a difference'". The Washington Post.
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  46. ^ Kelly, Michael (February 25, 2017). "Kelly: Camp scholarship memorializes Omahan Seth Rich, who was killed in D.C. in July". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
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  80. ^ Stetzer, Ed (May 31, 2017), "Christians, Repent (Yes, Repent) of Spreading Conspiracy Theories and Fake News—It's Bearing False Witness", Christianity Today, And now I noticed that many of the same conservative Christians who shared about #pizzagate have been spreading the #SethRich conspiracy theory.
  81. ^ a b c d Farhi, Paul (May 17, 2017). "A conspiratorial tale of murder, with Fox News at the center". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 18, 2017. The Rich story has taken on elements of the Comet Ping Pong conspiracy, a false and preposterous tale involving Hillary Clinton and her supposed operation of a child-abuse ring at a District pizza restaurant.
  82. ^ Scheck, Frank (May 31, 2017), "Critic's Notebook: Sean Hannity Returns to Talk About Not Talking About the Seth Rich Conspiracy Theory", The Hollywood Reporter, So it's only a matter of time before another lunatic, like the one who showed up with a loaded weapon after Pizzagate, becomes inspired to deliver vigilante-style justice.
  83. ^ a b Boehlert, Eric (May 19, 2017), "Fox's Vulgar Coverage Of A Murdered DNC Staffer Is Nothing New", The Huffington Post, Basically, it was the 'alt-right' idiocy of Pizzagate all over again.
  84. ^ Marwick, Alice (May 18, 2017), "The Online Radicalization We're Not Talking About", New York Magazine, If you've read this week's conspiracy-mongering stories about the supposedly suspicious death of DNC employee Seth Rich — or if you've read in the past about the rise of White Student Unions on college campuses, or 'Pizzagate' — you've seen the fruits of their efforts.
  85. ^ Viebeck, Elise (December 22, 2016), "Schooled on Benghazi and Pizzagate, Trump team is heavy on conspiracy theorists", The New York Times, Many of Trump's highest-level appointees have a history of publicly promoting conspiratorial, outlandish and fringe beliefs, particularly about Muslims, the Clinton family and the environment — unproven narratives that remain stubbornly alive on the Internet despite being debunked by the mainstream media.
  86. ^ Lanard, Noah (May 17, 2017), "Fox 5's Nonsensical Seth Rich Story Managed to Disintegrate in a Way That Made No Sense", Washingtonian, After being forced out of the Trump administration for promoting the Comet Ping Pong conspiracy theory, Michael Flynn Jr., the son of the former National Security Adviser, tweeted, 'So many stories to take away from the #SethRich bombshell.'
  87. ^ Parton, Heather Digby (May 24, 2017), "Donald Trump must be getting desperate: Does he really think thuggish Corey Lewandowski can save him?", Salon, Seth Rich saga, which has the right-wing media in a full-blown frenzy. ... It has all the hallmarks of a Bossie-style hit although the inane Pizzagate conspiracy spread by the likes of former national security adviser Michael Flynn proves that dirty tricks can be done just as well by amateurs.
  88. ^ Asarch, Steven (May 20, 2017). "Reddit News: The Donald Sub Set To Private, Maybe Done For Good [UPDATE: It's Back]". International Business Times. The_donald is arguably the most polarizing sub on reddit ... has become the main political subreddit for continued conspiracy theories, like Pizzagate or that the DNC murdered Seth Rich.
  89. ^ a b c Kurtzleben, Danielle (May 17, 2017). "Unproved Claims Re-Emerge Around DNC Staffer's Death: Here's What You Should Know". National Public Radio. Retrieved May 28, 2017. As with many other conspiracy theories ... this kind of assertion in part functions by trying to shift the burden of proof. Rather than proving with hard evidence that there was a conspiracy surrounding Rich's murder (or that the owners of Comet Ping Pong, the pizza restaurant, were harming children), the people making the unproved claims end up pushing the other side to try to disprove it.
  90. ^ Hannon, Elliot (May 24, 2017), "Hannity Says He Will Stop—But Also Never Stop—Pushing the Seth Rich Conspiracy", Slate, the PizzaGate-like conspiracy theory surrounding Rich's death
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  92. ^ Sullivan, Margaret (May 23, 2017), "Margaret Sullivan: The Seth Rich lie, and how the corrosion of reality should worry every American", The Salt Lake Tribune, The Washington Post, The Seth Rich lie has become the new Comet Ping Pong — another Washington-based conspiracy theory that ended in January with a gunman walking into a family-friendly pizza joint and firing shots as he 'self-investigated' a supposed child-molestation plot involving Hillary Clinton. Crazy, baseless and dangerous.
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Further reading

External links

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