Murder of Seth Rich

{{conspiracynav}}
{{cquote|It just won’t stop. The amount of pain and anguish this has caused us is unbearable. With every conspiratorial flare-up, we are forced to relive Seth’s murder and a small piece of us dies as more of Seth’s memory is torn away from us.|||Seth Rich's parents on these conspiracy theories.<ref name="parents">[http://time.com/4791788/seth-rich-parents-speak-out-fox-news-retraction-conspiracy-dnc/ ''Seth Rich's Parents to Conspiracy Theorists: Stop Politicizing Our Son’s Murder''] '''Time'''</ref>}}

'''Seth Conrad Rich''' (January 3, 1989 – July 10, 2016) was an [[US|American]] campaign worker for the [[Democratic Party (US)|Democratic National Committee]] whose unsolved murder has led to various rather "[[Insane|colorful]]" [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]], becoming just of the many anti-Democrat/pro-[[Trump]] propaganda campaigns that appeared during the [[2016 United States presidential election]]. The most common one claims that Rich was one of [[WikiLeaks]]' sources in a large leak of [[Hillary Clinton]]-related emails and that, as a result, he was murdered on the orders of the Clinton family.<ref>[http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/may/23/newt-gingrich/claim-slain-dnc-staffer-seth-rich-gave-emails-wiki/ ''The baseless claim that slain DNC staffer Seth Rich gave emails to WikiLeaks''] '''[[PolitiFact]]'''</ref>

Seth Rich's parents have begged these [[wingnuts]] to stop spreading lies about their son's death and exploiting his memory to smear their political opponents on the Left.<ref name="parents"></ref>

==The facts==

On Sunday, 10 July 2016, Rich was shot about a block from his apartment in the Bloomingdale neighborhood in Washington, DC.<ref name='newsweek'>http://www.newsweek.com/seth-rich-murder-dnc-hack-julian-assange-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-492084</ref>

Earlier that night, he was in Columbia Heights at a sports pub, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) from his apartment. He left the bar between 1:30 and 1:45 am.<ref>http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/seth-rich-who-is-he-wikileaks-murder-hillary-clinton-conspiracy-explained-a7739606.html</ref> Police were alerted to gunfire at 4:20 am by an automated gunfire locator.<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/police-identify-man-fatally-shot-in-bloomingdale/2016/07/11/4236fd1a-4754-11e6-90a8-fb84201e0645_story.html?utm_term=.b4dc2e4415c2</ref> Police officers found Rich with multiple gunshot wounds.<ref name='people'/> He was in a conscious and breathing state.<ref name='people'>http://people.com/crime/seth-rich-friends-say-dnc-staffer-was-honest-dependable/</ref> He was transported to a nearby hospital where he later died.<ref>http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/dnc-employee-shot-dead-dc-weekend/story?id=40498551</ref> Police have said he died from two shots in the back in what may have been an attempted robbery, noting that the neighborhood had been recently plagued by robberies. Strangely, however, they found his wallet, credit cards, and cellphone on his body.<ref name='newsweek'/>

According to Rich's mother: 
{{quotebox|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.<ref>http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Man-Shot-Killed-in-Northwest-DC-386316391.html</ref>}}

The murder remains unsolved.<ref name='heavy'>http://heavy.com/news/2017/05/brad-bauman-seth-rich-dnc-family-democrat-pastorum-group-wikileaks/</ref>

==The theories==

===Relating to his death===

;Claim: The explanation that he was killed in a robbery gone wrong is false because nothing was stolen.<ref name='vox'>https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/24/15685560/seth-rich-conspiracy-theory-explained-fox-news-hannity</ref>
;Response: 
:This theory seems to suggest that when a robbery goes wrong and a person is shot, then the robber will always steal something first instead of immediately fleeing the scene. Considering the speed in which police or witnesses could have arrived on the scene, it makes sense that the shooter would immediately flee.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2QSVzxXtrQ&t=4m</ref> Stealing from Rich after shooting him would have also provided forensic evidence that would be used to implicate the shooter.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm8Fm_RNz1o&t=3m8s</ref> 

;Claim: Hillary Clinton hired a hitman to assassinate Rich.<ref>https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/763236158583152640</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/MichaelSalamone/status/763499758245834756</ref><ref name='luke'>https://twitter.com/Lukewearechange/status/864449530678456320</ref><ref name='baked'/>
;Response: 
:This absurd claim is exclusively believable to those who buy into the "[[Clinton body count]]" conspiracy.<ref>http://www.snopes.com/politics/clintons/bodycount.asp</ref> Since they falsely believe Clinton has done this before, then this theory seems plausible even though there is not a shred of evidence supporting it. When examining this theory in detail, it completely falls apart. 
:If Clinton, or somebody else, had hired a professional hitman, then they would make sure Rich died immediately and not later on in hospital.<ref name='newsweek2'>http://www.newsweek.com/seth-rich-murder-report-profiling-project-627634</ref> It is highly unlikely a hitman would leave the scene of the crime with their victim still alive<ref name='newsweek2'/> and in a conscious and breathing state.<ref name='people'/>
:Clinton also had no motive to kill Rich. In order for this theory to make sense, Clinton would need to have known that Rich was the leaker.<ref group=note>She would have also needed to find this out before the leaks occurred, since Rich died on July 10 and the DNC emails were leaked on July 22.</ref> After she discovered this, she would need to have decided that the best course of action would be to risk her entire campaign, reputation, and freedom in hiring a hitman to kill Rich and then covering it up afterward. It makes no sense that she would come to that conclusion rather than exercising any of the countless legal methods (e.g. naming and shaming) to discipline Rich. 

;Claim: In an email, {{wpl|John Podesta}} says he is "definitely for making an example of a suspected leaker whether or not we have any real basis for it."<ref name='Podesta'>https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/36082</ref> This gives credibility to the theory that Rich was assassinated.<ref>https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/792875315920048128</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/Lukewearechange/status/864405063531409408</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/864486928023945216</ref>
;Response: 
:This is a classic example of [[quote mining]]. The email in question is from February 2015, more than a year before both Rich's death and the DNC leaks.<ref name='Podesta'/> It was referring to an article in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' concerning the branding of Hillary Clinton.<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-making-of-hillary-50-marketing-wizards-help-reimagine-clinton-brand/2015/02/21/bfb01120-b919-11e4-aa05-1ce812b3fdd2_story.html</ref><ref name='myths'>https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/05/22/the-seth-rich-conspiracys-biggest-myths-explained/?utm_term=.541388521a98</ref> Podesta was angry about the article and suspected that an insider had leaked information to reporters.<ref name='myths'/> In this context, his email had nothing to do with the DNC and was not in any way suggesting that leakers should be murdered.<ref name='myths'/> Even actual killers probably do not discuss murdering people on their work email. 

;Claim: {{wpl|Imran Awan}}<ref group=note>Awan, a Democratic staffer, became linked to Seth Rich by conspiracy theorists in July 2017. Awan had recently been arrested on charges of bank fraud ([http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/26/politics/imran-awan-house-democrats/index.html link to CNN article]).</ref> was partying with Seth Rich on the night of his murder.<ref>https://twitter.com/RogerJStoneJr/status/892265715780026368</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/892392934536040448</ref> There is a link between Awan and Rich's death,<ref>https://www.infowars.com/roger-stone-seth-rich-was-partying-with-imran-awan-on-the-night-of-his-murder/</ref> and Awan might have murdered him.<ref>https://twitter.com/RichardTBurnett/status/892531591532118016</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/KarenMonsour12/status/891807226863792128</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/LeDeplorables/status/895307584722358272</ref>
;Response: 
:The supposed evidence that they were partying together on the night of Rich's murder is a group photo which includes Rich and a man who conspiracy theorists claim is Imran Awan.<ref>https://twitter.com/hanaxhudo728/status/896468953035186176</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/GFloars/status/894315079314939905</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/TwizzlerGirl/status/893463894055931909</ref> Firstly, the photo was not from the night of Rich's murder. It was uploaded on 22 April 2015, more than a year before Rich's death.<ref>https://archive.ph/FBQ8f</ref> On top of that, the man in the photograph is ''clearly'' not Imran Awan. When comparing the supposed picture of Awan with a real picture of him, it is undeniable that they are two different people.<ref group=note> Supposed picture of Awan: [https://twitter.com/1965Clyde/status/892533916715888640 link]. Real photo of Awan: [https://twitter.com/SunSentinel/status/898424241221017602 link]</ref> The man has since been identified as Miguel Huerta.<ref>http://heavy.com/news/2017/08/seth-rich-imran-awan-partying-theories-truth-hoax-debunked-photos-rumors-dnc-leaks/</ref> This theory seemed to have gained traction due to a combination of the {{wpl|Cross-race effect|cross-race effect}} and many people being unaware of Awan's real appearance. 
:The claim that Awan is a suspect in Rich's murder is based entirely on this false picture of him. Therefore, this theory has no basis in fact. 

;Claim: {{wpl|Donna Brazile}} knows Seth Rich was murdered by the Clintons.<ref name=sherman>Sherman, Amy. [http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/nov/15/us-political/fake-headline-says-donna-brazile-knows-seth-rich-w/ Fake headline says Donna Brazile knows Seth Rich was murdered by Clintons]. [[PolitiFact]]. November 15, 2017.</ref>
;Response: 
:In her book, Brazile speculated that there could be other motivations behind Rich's killing, but never suggested the Clintons or DNC were involved.<ref name=sherman/> Brazile wrote that she feared for her life, placed surveillance cameras in her home and closed the blinds in her office so she could not be seen by a sniper.<ref name=sherman/><ref>Watson, Kathryn. [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donna-brazile-discussed-replacing-hillary-clinton-with-joe-biden-before-election-day/ Donna Brazile claims she considered replacing Clinton with Biden weeks before Election Day]. CBS News. November 4, 2017.</ref><ref group=note>As [https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/11/3-ways-the-democrats-can-quit-squabbling-and-unite.html Jacob Weindling of ''Paste'' points out], "There is no doubt that Brazile hyped up her account to hawk books".</ref> Brazile was concerned that Rich's death may have been linked to Russia ("with all I knew now about the Russians’ hacking, I could not help but wonder if they had played some part in his unsolved murder"), racial tension ("racial tensions were high that summer and I worried that he was murdered for being white on the wrong side of town") or "someone who had it out for the Democrats".<ref name=sherman/><ref name=Kutner>Kutner, Max. [https://www.newsweek.com/donna-brazile-book-seth-rich-russia-white-clinton-705424 Donna Brazile questioned if Seth Rich's death involved Russians, or his race]. Newsweek. November 8, 2017.</ref> She has described the idea that Rich was murdered by the DNC for leaking to WikiLeaks as a "baseless conspiracy theory".<ref name=sherman/><ref>[https://twitter.com/donnabrazile/status/1017816763554254849 For two years, my friend and colleague #SethRich has been under relentless attacks. His name sullied. His life’s work questioned. Today, for once, please end the conspiracy theories. Seth was a champion for social justice and American democracy. We loved and miss him so much.] Donna Brazile on Twitter. July 13, 2018.</ref>

===Relating to WikiLeaks===

;Claim: Rich, not Russia, was responsible for the {{wpl|2016 Democratic National Committee email leak||.}}<ref name='pettibone'/><ref>https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/855879939136114688</ref>
;Response: 
:There is no evidence for this and it is highly unlikely, since Rich had never shown any prowess at hacking and was not good with computers.<ref name='vox'/><ref name='nymag'>http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/05/is-this-even-about-seth-rich-at-all.html</ref> Additionally, his parents have said that his low-level job did not grant him access to the kinds of emails that people are claiming.<ref name='vox'/><ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/were-seth-richs-parents-stop-politicizing-our-sons-murder/2017/05/23/164cf4dc-3fee-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html?utm_term=.8a5596286329</ref>

;Claim: Both [[Julian Assange]]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp7FkLBRpKg</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/JulianAssange/status/866536275972689920</ref> and [[WikiLeaks]]<ref>https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/763041804652539904</ref><ref name='wikileaks podesta'>https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/792875315920048128</ref> have indicated that Seth Rich was their source.<ref>http://www.newsweek.com/seth-rich-kim-dotcom-murder-wikileaks-fox-news-sean-hannity-russia-hillary-614307</ref> Why would WikiLeaks offer a reward for information on Rich's murderer if he was not their source?<ref>https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/763041804652539904</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/763871232286597120</ref> 
;Response: 
:It is true that Assange and WikiLeaks both hinted that Rich was their leaker.<ref group=note>Although a [https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/763565863861616640 statement from WikiLeaks] has said that they are not implying Rich was their source</ref> However, this only proves that they want people to believe their source was Rich, whether or not it is actually true. This could be because he is the leaker or it could be in order to distract attention away from their actual source.<ref>https://consortiumnews.com/2017/08/08/a-new-twist-in-seth-rich-murder-case/</ref>
:If Rich had actually been the source, then the behaviour of Assange and WikiLeaks would make little sense.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2QSVzxXtrQ&t=8m</ref> How is Assange protecting the anonymity of his source by strongly hinting at his identity? What benefit is there in indirectly indicating, in such a transparent way, that Rich was the leaker? 
:However, assuming that Russia is the source, then their behaviour does make sense.<ref name='nation'>https://www.thenation.com/article/seth-rich-conspiracy-theorists-and-russiagate-truthers/</ref> They would either create or perpetuate alternative theories in order to divert attention from their real source.<ref name='nation'/> So, logically, they would use the Rich theory as a distraction from their actual source. This discredits the Russia investigation and downplays their links to Russia. 
:It has also been claimed that Assange is trustworthy since he has never been proven to be a liar,<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKawchvHsEg&t=14m30s</ref> but that is demonstrably false.<ref>http://gizmodo.com/julian-assange-lied-about-a-wikileaks-data-dump-on-nati-1785091653</ref><ref>[http://theweek.com/speedreads/671186/no-clinton-aide-john-podesta-not-hacked-because-used-password-email-password No, Clinton aide John Podesta was not hacked because he used 'password' as his email password] ''The Week''. January 5, 2017.</ref>

;Claim: There is evidence on Rich's laptop of communication with WikiLeaks.<ref>http://www.snopes.com/seth-rich-dnc-wikileaks-murder/</ref>
;Response: 
:The source of this claim was Rod Wheeler (and an anonymous federal investigator), during a Fox News report in May 2017.<ref name='politifact'>http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/aug/07/seth-rich-separating-fact-and-speculation/</ref> According to Fox, an anonymous federal investigator claimed the FBI were in possession of emails between Rich and WikiLeaks.<ref name='politifact'/> However, a law enforcement official has reported that DC police examined Rich's laptop and found it "never contained any e-mails related to WikiLeaks and the FBI never had it."<ref name='politifact'/> FBI sources have said the bureau is not investigating the murder and Washington police never gave them Rich's laptop.<ref>http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/seth-rich-who-is-he-wikileaks-murder-hillary-clinton-conspiracy-explained-a7739606.html</ref><ref>http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/may/26/patriotcriercom/conspiracy-theory-comey-hid-seth-richs-ties-wikile/</ref>
:In August 2017, Fox News was sued by Wheeler.<ref name='politifact'/> According to Wheeler, he believed he was giving viewers a preview of the Fox News story, and a Fox reporter had told him they had learned about the source connecting Rich with WikiLeaks.<ref name='vox'/> Wheeler's lawsuit suggests the story was an attempt to discredit theories that Russia was responsible for the DNC leaks.<ref name='politifact'/><ref name='cnn'>http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/24/us/seth-rich-dnc-wikileaks-theories/index.html</ref> Wheeler has since admitted that he had never seen Rich's computer and never talked with the federal investigator.<ref>http://www.newsweek.com/russian-embassy-twitter-seth-rich-murder-dnc-612446</ref> Shortly after its initial broadcast, Fox News retracted the story for not meeting the "high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for our reporting."<ref name='politifact'/>

;Claim: {{wpl|Kim Dotcom}} said he knew Seth Rich and knew he was the WikiLeaks source since Dotcom was also involved.<ref name='kimdotcom'/>
;Response: 
:So far, he has never presented any evidence verifying these claims, so they are simply baseless rumours.<ref name='myths'/> Dotcom's credibility is also questionable since he first commented on Seth Rich publicly in May 2017,<ref name='KDC'/> 10 months after Rich was killed. If he really had information, why would he hold onto it for so long? He has also been accused of money laundering, racketeering and wire fraud by the US Department of Justice.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/01/why-kim-dotcom-hasnt-been-extradited-3-years-after-the-us-smashed-megaupload|title=Why Kim Dotcom hasn’t been extradited 3 years after the US smashed Megaupload|last=Farivar|first=Cyrus|date=18 January 2015|website=[[Ars Technica]]|access-date=26 May 2017}}</ref> Dotcom currently resides in New Zealand and is fighting attempts to be extradited to the US.<ref>http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1705/S00469/kim-dotcom-approaches-special-counsel.htm</ref> 
:Further proving himself an unreliable source, Dotcom posted an obviously fake FBI document relating to Seth Rich that he later admitted was not authentic.<ref name='gizmodo'>http://gizmodo.com/kim-dotcom-says-fbi-file-about-seth-rich-is-fake-but-h-1795646891?IR=T</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/kimdotcom/status/868779214123581440</ref>

;Claim: Rich has a motive for leaking. He was a disgruntled [[Bernie Sanders]] supporter<ref>https://twitter.com/jerome_corsi/status/869600949882564608</ref> who was disgusted by the corruption of the DNC.<ref>http://www.factcheck.org/2017/05/gingrich-spreads-conspiracy-theory/</ref>
;Response: 
:The evidence suggests quite the opposite. Before his death, Rich was planning to move to Brooklyn in order to work for the Clinton campaign.<ref name='nymag'/><ref name='cnn'/> Besides, Rich had no access to the relevant emails so he would not have the opportunity to be outraged at any corruption that would supposedly motivate him. There would need to be evidence he was aware of any corruption, and such evidence has never materialised.
:The idea he was a Sanders supporter is based on a Reddit account called "pandas4bernie"<ref group=note>Seth Rich [http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/05/is-this-even-about-seth-rich-at-all.html once came to work dressed in a panda suit], so the conspiracy theorists suggest he therefore must be "pandas4bernie".</ref> that became inactive around the time he died.<ref name='nymag'/> However, the people behind "pandas4bernie" have denied Rich was connected to their Reddit.<ref name='nymag'/> 

;Claim: Brad Bauman, who is officially Seth Rich's family spokesman, is actually a DNC handler assigned to the Rich family.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/comments/6cm5t5/brad_bauman_the_dnc_handler_assigned_to_the_rich/</ref> Bauman is clearly trying to prevent the truth from getting out.<ref>https://twitter.com/Robbin_Young/status/866076789600210945</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/adryenn/status/867045555800637440</ref>
;Response: 
:According to journalist David Weigel, the DNC had no role in hiring Bauman.<ref>https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/866706947000631296</ref> Seth Rich's family had asked some of his best friends who could help them with the media and they suggested Bauman.<ref name='myths'/> Bauman has neither worked for the DNC or been paid by them.<ref name='myths'/> 
:The source that the DNC assigned Bauman to the Rich family appears to be {{wpl|Ed Butowsky}} in an article on [[WND]].<ref name='wnd'>http://www.wnd.com/2017/05/thats-patently-false-seth-rich-family-spokesman-denies-dnc-is-paying-him/</ref> Butowsky claimed Rich's father said Bauman was assigned to them.<ref name='reddit'>https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/comments/6d6ltc/seth_richs_dad_says_brad_bauman_was_assigned_to/</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/prisonplanet/status/867674830505742337</ref> Not only is this just gossip, but Butowsky has demonstrated himself to be untrustworthy due to his involvement in a retracted Fox News story about Seth Rich.<ref name='npr'/> 
:Bauman is certainly not trying to prevent the truth from getting out (quite the opposite). Bauman is simply, and unsurprisingly, fed up with the conspiracy theorists and has been quite scathing in his opinion of them: 

{{quotebox|Anyone who continues to push this fake news story after it was so thoroughly debunked is proving to the world they have a transparent political agenda or are a sociopath.<ref>http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/seth-rich-murder-conspiracy-theories-reemerge-as-kim-dotcom-weighs-in/news-story/f83799b656d13c98a6ad96e30a918178</ref>}}

;Claim: In an audio recording, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist {{wpl|Seymour Hersh}} claims there is an FBI report establishing that Seth Rich made contact with WikiLeaks.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMcHblG9_j8</ref><ref group='note'>The audio was [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giuZdBAXVh0 first uploaded on YouTube] on July 11, 2017.</ref>
;Response:
:The voice recording had been secretly recorded by Ed Butowsky during a phone call with Hersh.<ref name='npr hersh'>http://www.npr.org/2017/08/16/543830392/the-role-of-ed-butowsky-in-advancing-retracted-seth-rich-story</ref> According to Joe Lauria of Consortium News, Hersh confirmed it was his voice on the tape and has said he was recorded without permission.<ref name='consortium'>https://consortiumnews.com/2017/08/08/a-new-twist-in-seth-rich-murder-case/</ref> The first thing to note, and what the conspiracy theorists often conveniently ignore, is that Hersh agreed that Rich was killed in a botched robbery.<ref name='Hersh audio'/> It is indeed true that Hersh also said that Rich made contact with WikiLeaks.<ref name='Hersh audio'>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giuZdBAXVh0</ref> The source for Hersh's comments was an unnamed FBI insider who Hersh described as a "very high level guy" who is "unbelievably accurate and careful."<ref name='Hersh audio'/> Explaining his comments, Hersh said "I hear gossip" and suggested Butowsky "took two and two and made 45 out of it."<ref>http://www.npr.org/2017/08/01/540783715/lawsuit-alleges-fox-news-and-trump-supporter-created-fake-news-story</ref><ref name='HP'/> 
:The released audio is only a portion of a longer phone call and left out several important clarifications. Hersh has said that he told Butowsky that the FBI report might be incorrect or nonexistent.<ref name='npr hersh'/> 
:According to a complaint from Rod Wheeler, "Hersh cautioned Butowsky that the information was not necessarily true, and that, even if true, did not preclude the possibility that the Russians also hacked the DNC."<ref name='HP'>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rod-wheeler-fox-news-donald-trump-and-the-ghost-of_us_598b3b5be4b08a4c247f275f</ref><ref name='wheeler lawsuit'/> Wheeler's complaint also suggests Butowsky had planned to extort Hersh.<ref name='wheeler lawsuit'>https://www.scribd.com/document/355266070/Wheeler-Filed-Complaint</ref><ref name='HP'/><ref>https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/892744475419848706</ref> Hersh himself told reporter {{wpl|David Folkenflik}} that Butowsky tried to blackmail him.<ref>https://twitter.com/davidfolkenflik/status/892574208168996866</ref> 
:Hersh's statements have also been somewhat contradictory. For instance, Hersh told NPR that he did not talk to anyone at the FBI about this,<ref name='npr hersh'/> but also admitted he did hear about the FBI report but had not personally seen it.<ref name='nation'>https://www.thenation.com/article/seth-rich-conspiracy-theorists-and-russiagate-truthers/</ref> Additionally, despite his recorded comments, Hersh has said he never claimed to have a source in the FBI on the Rich case.<ref name='HP'/> This shows that he lied either during or after the secretly recorded phone call.
:Finally, although Hersh has won a Pulitzer Prize, that does not make him infallible (e.g. {{wpl|Judith Miller}}<ref>Foer. Franklin. [http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/features/9226/ The Source of the Trouble]. New York.</ref>). In fact, Hersh had been recently lambasted for promoting discredited conspiracy theories concerning the April 2017 {{wpl|Khan Shaykhun chemical attack}} in Syria.<ref name='bellingcat'>https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/07/04/opcw-just-trashed-seymour-hershs-khan-sheikhoun-conspiracy-theory/</ref><ref>https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/06/25/will-get-fooled-seymour-hersh-welt-khan-sheikhoun-chemical-attack/</ref><ref>https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/07/28/khan-sheikhoun-seymour-hersh-learned-just-write-know-move/</ref><ref>Shalom, Stephen R. [https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/07/syria-chemical-attack-assad-trump The Chemical Attack at Khan Sheikhoun] ''Jacobin''. July 24, 2017.</ref><ref>Schinis, Alexander. [https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/Comment/2017/9/13/Sarin-denial-and-journalisms-race-to-the-bottom Sarin denial and journalism's race to the bottom] ''The New Arab''. September 13, 2017.</ref><ref>Idrees Ahmad, Muhammad. [http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/07/syria-case-editorial-accountability-170711133007352.html Syria and the case for editorial accountability] ''Al Jazeera''. July 12, 2017.</ref> Hersh's source for his article about Syria had either purposely misled him or had been provided false information that they shared with Hersh.<ref name='bellingcat'/> This could very well be the case again with his theoretical FBI source regarding Seth Rich. 
:Hersh has also appeared on InfoWars where he was interviewed by conspiracy theorist [[Alex Jones]].<ref name="hersh alex jones">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fKasEeOgE0&t=17m17s Bombshell Interview: Sy Hersh Exposes The Obama-ISIS Alliance]. The Alex Jones Channel. December 30, 2015.</ref> Hersh said to Jones that "there's guys like you, and all sorts of other people around the world, that pay more attention than often the major papers here."<ref name="hersh alex jones"/> Further discrediting himself, Hersh has claimed that "there's no such thing as a chlorine bomb" and "chlorine is just a gas, it's not a {{wpl|Chlorine#Use_as_a_weapon|chemical warfare weapon.}}"<ref>Whitaker, Brian. [http://al-bab.com/blog/2018/06/seymour-hersh-syria-theres-no-such-thing-chlorine-bomb Seymour Hersh on Syria: "There's no such thing as a chlorine bomb"]. al-bab.com. June 27, 2018. {{quotebox|'''Hersh''': There was a story just the other day, again about the Assad regime dropping chemical bombs – chlorine bombs – and there's no such thing as a chlorine bomb. There's just so many factual things that people say that aren't accurate. Chlorine is just a gas. It's not a chemical warfare weapon. You smell it, you run away.}}</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI3ZkL9Soos&t=24m45s Ep. 629: Pulitzer Prize-winning Sy Hersh Questions Official Line on NATO, Skripal & ISIS]. goingundergroundRT. June 30, 2018. {{quotebox|'''Hersh''': There was a story in the press where Syria was using chlorine in East Ghouta. And there was stories that they were using sarin gas and chlorine together. Chlorine's a very volatile gas. It’s not a warfare agent. And there was a story just the other day about Syria, a UN report claiming they dropped a chlorine gas bomb. There’s no such thing in anybody’s arsenal. A chlorine bomb? How much chlorine can you put into it? Chlorine’s a gas. It dissipates quickly. It moves quickly. It’s not lethal. You can breathe it. It’s not a warfare agent. There’s no such bomb.}}</ref><ref>[https://www.opcw.org/about-chemical-weapons/what-is-a-chemical-weapon/ Brief Description of Chemical Weapons, Chemical Weapon as defined by the CWC, CW Agent Group, Persistency Rate of Action]. Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). {{quotebox|The toxic chemicals that have been used as chemical weapons, or have been developed for use as chemical weapons, can be categorised as choking, blister, blood, or nerve agents. The most well known agents are as follows: choking agents—'''chlorine''' and phosgene, blister agents (or vesicants)—mustard and lewisite, blood agents—hydrogen cyanide, nerve agents—sarin, soman, VX.}}</ref> 

;Claim: If Rich is the leaker, the United States can no longer blame Russia, and any Russian investigation is unnecessary.<ref name='myths'/><ref>https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/892923676558897152</ref>
;Response: 
:Even if Rich was responsible for one batch of leaks, Russia has been implicated in three separate hackings. There are Russian fingerprints on the {{wpl|2016 Democratic National Committee email leak|DNC email leak}}, {{wpl|Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee cyber attacks|DCCC cyber attacks}} and {{wpl|Podesta emails}}.<ref name='vox'/><ref name='myths'/>

==The conspiracy theorists==
{{cquote|The people pushing this conspiracy theory seem to be, exclusively, people acting either; on behalf of the Russian government, far-right wingers, people on the alt-right, Trump supporters, or people who just hate Hillary Clinton.|||David Pakman<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUADrNY2rZg&t=8m41s</ref>}}

===Fox News and "alternative" media===
In a rare acknowledgment that it was wrong, [[Fox News]] issued a retraction on May 23<sup>rd</sup> 2017 regarding its conspiracy mongering.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20170516133954/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/16/slain-dnc-staffer-had-contact-with-wikileaks-investigator-says.html Seth Rich, slain DNC staffer, had contact with WikiLeaks, say multiple sources] by Malia Zimmerman (May 16, 2017) ''Fox News'' (archived from May 16, 2017).</ref><ref name=grynbaum>[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/business/media/fox-news-seth-rich.html Fox News Retracts Story Linking Murder of D.N.C. Aide to 2016 Presidential Campaign] by Michael M. Grynbaum & Daniel Victor (MAY 23, 2017) 'The New York Times''.</ref> [[Sean Hannity]], one of the main agitators of this conspiracy theory at Fox, did not back down, stating "All you in the liberal media — I am not Fox.com or FoxNews.com. I retracted nothing."<ref name=grynbaum/>

[[Breitbart.com]], [[InfoWars]], [[WND]] and [[Globalresearch]] have published several articles supporting the conspiracy theories.<ref name='wnd'/><ref name='snopes'/><ref>http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2017/05/16/silence-from-establishment-media-over-seth-rich-wikileaks-report/</ref><ref>http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2017/05/16/4-unanswered-questions-surrounding-murdered-dnc-staffer-seth-rich/</ref><ref>https://www.globalresearch.ca/pulitzer-prize-winning-reporter-seymour-hersh-fbi-report-shows-it-was-seth-rich-not-russians-who-gave-dnc-emails-to-wikileaks/5602241</ref>

In November 2020, Fox News reached an undisclosed settlement with the Rich's parents for intentionally exploiting his death.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2020/11/24/fox-news-seth-rich-settlement/ Fox News reaches settlement with parents of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich] by Elahe Izadi & Paul Farhi (November 24, 2020 at 12:49 p.m. PST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

===WikiLeaks===
[[Julian Assange]] said on [[Dutch]] television:

{{quotebox|Whistleblowers go to significant efforts to get us material, and often very significant risks, as a 27-year-old, works for the DNC, was shot in the back, murdered just a few weeks ago for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington.<ref>[https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/24/15685560/seth-rich-conspiracy-theory-explained-fox-news-hannity ''The bonkers Seth Rich conspiracy theory, explained''] '''Vox'''</ref>}}

WikiLeaks has offered a cash reward of $20,000 for "information leading to conviction for the murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich."<ref>[https://mobile.twitter.com/wikileaks/status/763041804652539904 ''WikiLeaks' Twitter]</ref>

===Russian government===
Russian propaganda outlets [[RT]]<ref>https://www.rt.com/op-edge/389073-asange-wikileaks-russia-case/</ref><ref>https://www.rt.com/op-edge/388842-washington-post-russia-trump/</ref> and {{wpl|Sputnik (news agency)|Sputnik}}<ref>https://sputniknews.com/politics/201608121044215197-us-dnc-hack-russia-sanctions-commentary/</ref><ref>https://sputniknews.com/radio_connecting_the_pieces/201703241051920720-who-was-seth-rich/</ref> fed into the conspiracy theories.<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/the-life-and-death-of-the-seth-rich-conspiracy-theory/2017/05/23/aba640c4-3ff3-11e7-adba-394ee67a7582_story.html</ref><ref name='snopes'>http://www.snopes.com/2017/05/25/seth-rich-conspiracy-theory/</ref> RT aired a debate about Seth Rich's murder with three invited guests; Hank Sheinkopf, H.A. Goodman and Alex Christoforou.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT9wFXUAjMk</ref><ref group=note>Christoforou is a [http://theduran.com/author/alex/ writer] for The Duran, which is a questionable source [https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-duran/ according to MediaBiasFactCheck.com].</ref> Only Sheinkopf did not agree with the conspiracy theories. 

In May 2017, the Russian embassy in London tweeted that Rich was the informant for WikiLeaks.<ref name='snopes'/><ref>http://observer.com/2017/08/russia-white-house-disinformation-seth-rich-hr-mcmaster/</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/RussianEmbassy/status/865571158862811136</ref>

According to ''Salon'': 

{{quotebox|Spreading word of the theory has also proven attractive to Russian state-owned media outlets. According to Google as of this writing, Rich’s death has been mentioned on 148 pages from Sputnik News, a propaganda site modeled after BuzzFeed. RT, Sputnik’s television-oriented counterpart, has run 53 stories mentioning Rich.<ref>[https://www.salon.com/2017/09/17/was-the-dnc-hack-an-inside-job-its-a-hot-theory-but-probably-not/ Was the DNC hack an inside job? It’s a hot theory — but probably not]. ''Salon''. September 17, 2017.</ref>}}

{{wpl|Clint Watts}} explained Russia's motivation: 

{{quotebox|There are several facets to this — [Russian agents] want to push back on the idea, particularly among Trump supporters, that they hacked into the DNC. The way to do that is to put forward this Seth Rich scenario that the information didn’t come form{{sic}} Russian hackers, it came from an [inside] leak.<br>
It rallies Trump’s base, which they have already influenced significantly over the last two years in the U.S. and foments conspiracy theories. And it mirrors what Trump says. Trump denies the findings of the intelligence agencies that Russia did hack into the DNC. [Russian agents] want that to go away as much as possible.<ref name='snopes'/>}}

===List of exploitive people===
<div style="column-count:2; -moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2">
* [[Scott Adams]]<ref>https://archive.ph/https://twitter.com/ScottAdamsSays/status/969412527447683073</ref>
* [[Baked Alaska]]<ref name='baked'>https://archive.ph/rYMSe</ref>
* {{wpl|Roseanne Barr}}<ref>https://archive.ph/https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/868979145459421184</ref><ref>https://archive.ph/https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/793799989482823680</ref>
* [[Black Pigeon Speaks]]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCRBM--C2ZI</ref>
* {{wpl|Jack Burkman}}<ref>http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-big-money-pr-war-over-seth-richs-death</ref><ref>http://www.newsweek.com/seth-rich-russia-and-2016-election-648312</ref>
* {{wpl|Ed Butowsky}}<ref name='npr'>http://www.npr.org/2017/08/01/540783715/lawsuit-alleges-fox-news-and-trump-supporter-created-fake-news-story</ref>
* {{wpl|Tim Canova}}<ref>http://www.jta.org/2017/06/16/default/bernie-sanders-ally-trying-a-second-time-to-unseat-debbie-wasserman-schultz</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/Tim_Canova/status/823161211931992064<br>https://twitter.com/Tim_Canova/status/834613063986900993<br>https://archive.ph/https://twitter.com/Tim_Canova/status/840810444839354368</ref>
* [[Mike Cernovich]]<ref>https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/877205533165367297</ref>
* [[Jerome Corsi]]<ref>https://twitter.com/jerome_corsi/status/877504162136813569</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/jerome_corsi/status/892688161121464320</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLpqTlMwLLY&t=3m16s</ref>
* [[Mark Dice]]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpKaEvY1WGY</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/MarkDice/status/864339831740026881</ref>
* [[Jimmy Dore]], formerly with [[The Young Turks]] network<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKawchvHsEg]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60vWDBeQUjo ''Aggressive Progressives'' on The Young Turks: "Seth Rich "Investigator" Rod Wheeler Exposed As A Fraud"] (May 20, 2017), YouTube {{quotebox|'''Jimmy Dore''': There is something to this story though. I don't want to discount it like "oh, you're crazy if you think there's something more to this story." There probably is something more to this story.}}</ref> 
* {{wpl|Kim Dotcom}}<ref name='KDC'>https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/864513902435901440</ref><ref name='kimdotcom'>https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/865987139166552064</ref>
* [[Pamela Geller]]<ref>https://twitter.com/PamelaGeller/status/864499455495520256</ref>
* [[Newt Gingrich]]<ref>http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/may/23/newt-gingrich/claim-slain-dnc-staffer-seth-rich-gave-emails-wiki/</ref>
* [[Faith Goldy]]<ref>https://archive.ph/https://twitter.com/FaithGoldy/status/864484083455344641</ref>
* [[Sean Hannity]]<ref>https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/24/15685560/seth-rich-conspiracy-theory-explained-fox-news-hannity</ref>
* {{wpl|Seymour Hersh}}<ref>http://www.npr.org/2017/08/01/540783715/lawsuit-alleges-fox-news-and-trump-supporter-created-fake-news-story</ref>
* [[Katie Hopkins]]<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-de3mq7bJxU&t=6m48s Katie Hopkins on The Sean Hannity Radio Show (5/17/2017)] {{quotebox|Seeing the clip of [[Julian Assange|him]] commenting on the Seth Rich case, it could not be more clear how he is stating what has gone on with Seth Rich without giving away any of his sources. I think it's a real tribute to someone in an age where everyone is endlessly over-sharing, he takes you right to that line. He lets you join that final dot, and that is very easy to join up. It is unbelievable that anyone is swallowing any kind of narrative that Seth Rich was simply gunned down and nothing was taken from him.}}</ref>
* [[David Icke]]<ref>https://twitter.com/davidicke/status/893124335757651968</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/davidicke/status/764521406159659008</ref>
* [[Alex Jones]]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0OF05j6ewU&t=3m52s</ref>
* {{wpl|Ray McGovern}}<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J0QHHMNCV4&t=38m30s</ref>
* [[Gavin McInnes]]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp45SQua32M</ref><ref>http://takimag.com/article/a_hot_month_for_clintons_body_count_gavin_mcinnes/print#axzz4hFO9u7I1</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/Gavin_McInnes/status/867362932602138625</ref>
* [[Stefan Molyneux]]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioBiYxZReTo</ref>
* [[Brittany Pettibone]]<ref name='pettibone'>https://twitter.com/BrittPettibone/status/864554279721254912</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/BrittPettibone/status/864342726916964352</ref>
* [[Jack Posobiec]]<ref>https://archive.ph/bytcG</ref><ref>http://www.thedailybeast.com/jack-posobiec-pizzagate-and-seth-rich-conspiracy-theorist-has-top-secret-security-clearance</ref>
* [[Paul Ramsey]]<ref>https://twitter.com/ramzpaul/status/879518639464083457</ref>
* [[Geraldo Rivera]]<ref>[https://mobile.twitter.com/GeraldoRivera/status/866752707972956160 '''Geraldo Rivera's Twitter''']</ref>
* [[Joe Rogan]]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dqy6-1yfhg</ref>
* [[Luke Rudkowski]]<ref name='luke'/><ref>https://twitter.com/Lukewearechange/status/758891594799910912</ref>
* [[Sargon of Akkad]]<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YUJbMKqO-Q&t=19m55s Sargon of Akkad Joins us! - Trump, BREXIT and Conspiracies, oh my! - Drunken Peasants #359] Drunken Peasants. June 2, 2017.{{quotebox|'''Sargon''': I don't know about Seth Rich but if I had to put money on it; yeah, I'd say he was probably the leaker who got shot.}}</ref>
* [[Lauren Southern]]<ref>https://www.facebook.com/LaurenCSouthern/videos/435840243463382/</ref>
* [[Roger Stone]], who wanted Rich's parents arrested because they didn't like his conspiracy theory<ref>[https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/05/26/another-low-roger-stone-seth-rich-s-parents-should-be-charged-obstruction/216690 ''Another low for Roger Stone: Seth Rich's "parents should be charged with obstruction"''] '''[[Media Matters]]'''</ref>
* [[Styxhexenhammer666]]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6glz4Xluby8</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWBt-G4dMT4</ref>
* [[SyrianGirlPartisan]]<ref>https://twitter.com/Partisangirl/status/867597826808700929</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/Partisangirl/status/867159029319061504</ref>
* [[Vox Day]]<ref>https://archive.ph/cnUMU</ref>
* [[Paul Joseph Watson]]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lbu1VXZIsI</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/864471139447431168</ref>
* {{wpl|Chuck Woolery}}<ref>https://twitter.com/chuckwoolery/status/864464761437736962</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/chuckwoolery/status/864476622900121600</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/chuckwoolery/status/864487156894584832</ref>
* [[Milo Yiannopoulos]]<ref>https://www.facebook.com/myiannopoulos/videos/887320498072513/</ref><ref>https://www.facebook.com/myiannopoulos/videos/919292478208648/</ref>
</div>

==See also==
*[[Vince Foster]] – another tragic death that was turned into a exploitative conspiracy theory back in the days of [[Bill Clinton|Slick Willie’s]] presidency.
*[[Pizzagate]] - a similarly infamous hoax popular among the far-right during the 2016 election.

==External links==
* [https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/24/15685560/seth-rich-conspiracy-theory-explained-fox-news-hannity ''The bonkers Seth Rich conspiracy theory, explained''] '''Vox'''
* {{wpa|Murder of Seth Rich}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Seth}}
[[Category:Alt-lite]]
[[Category:Alt-right]]
[[Category:The Clintons]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Crime]]
[[Category:Trumpism]]
[[Category:United States politicians]]

Categories: Alt-lite, Alt-right, The Clintons, Conspiracy theories, Crime, Trumpism, United States politicians