The Curious Case of Seth Rich: Why DNC Staffer’s Murder Continues to Stir Up Political Controversy
By Ekaterina Blinova – Sputnik – 26.12.2020
DNC staffer Seth Rich’s unresolved murder case is still raising questions on both sides of the US political aisle. An American investigative journalist has shed light on the efforts to get to the bottom of the case and the FBI’s potential role in investigating the 27-year-old’s death.
Earlier this month, American attorney Ty Clevenger announced on his blog that his years-long search of documents concerning the mysterious murder of 27-year-old DNC employee Seth Rich had eventually borne fruit: after repeated denials, the FBI reportedly admitted that it has over 20,000 pages of records mentioning the victim and, more importantly, his personal laptop currently being under examination by the bureau.
To back his claim, Clevenger quoted a letter he received from Assistant US Attorney Andrea Parker, who is representing the FBI in a case against his client. Previously, the bureau claimed that it had sought but didn’t find any documents concerning the murdered DNC employee. Clevenger repeatedly requested the investigative agency’s records about the DNC staffer, citing a client with second-hand knowledge of documents that the FBI supposedly extracted from Seth Rich’s electronic devices.
Was the FBI Somehow Involved in the Inquiry Into Rich’s Death?
“The FBI’s involvement in any potential Seth Rich investigation is significant because they don’t normally investigate murders of ordinary citizens”, says Jason Goodman, US investigative journalist and Crowdsource the Truth founder, who interviewed Clevenger on 11 December. “Seth was not a Federal employee; he was a private citizen working for the DNC. The Washington DC Metro Police responded to the scene of the shooting and their detectives would normally conduct the investigation”.
There are a number of other circumstances that could attract the FBI, but it would have to involve crimes that span multiple US states, the investigative journalist highlights. To complicate matters further, the public does not know that much about the shooting “because there has been virtually no police investigation”, he says, adding that “the entire matter is extremely unusual”. The crime has remained unresolved for over four years.
On 10 July 2016, DNC employee Seth Rich was shot dead in what appeared to be a botched robbery. Rich’s death triggered a lot of controversy:
· It occurred less than two weeks before the release of thousands of DNC internal emails and documents by WikiLeaks.
· In August 2016, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange dropped a very vague hint in an interview with a Dutch TV reporter concerning a murdered “27-year-old who worked for DNC” while speaking about the group’s source. Assange’s remark was interpreted as a reference to Seth Rich.
On 16 May 2017, Fox News’ Malia Zimmerman published a story claiming that the DNC documents were handed over to WikiLeaks by Rich. The article said that “a federal investigator” had reviewed “an FBI forensic report” on the matter and “detail[ed] the contents of Rich’s computer”. It also floated the idea that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) deliberately blocked the investigation into the case.
The story was immediately denounced as “bogus” by US mainstream news agencies and intelligence officials: an FBI official and a former law enforcement member “with first-hand knowledge of Rich’s laptop” told NBC News the same day that the DC MPD had not given the bureau the DNC staffer’s laptop to analyse after his murder. On 23 May 2017, Zimmerman’s story was retracted as not meeting the network’s “standards”, and shortly after that Fox News was sued by the DNC staffer’s parents.
NBC News argued at the time that there was no way Rich could be WikiLeaks’ source, since the DNC email leak “came from a Russian hacking operation”. Moscow resolutely denied the claim that it was involved in an alleged breach as absurd.
Obvious Flaws in the “Russia Did It” Theory
The “Russia did it” story with regard to the alleged hack of DNC servers raised more questions than answers. Although the US Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) formally pinned the blame on Moscow in January 2017, the committee’s hardware has never been examined by the FBI, which completely relied on data provided by CrowdStrike, a DNC contractor.
However, CrowdStrike President Shawn Henry stated in a sworn testimony in December 2017 in the US Congress that the firm “did not have concrete evidence that the data was exfiltrated [moved electronically] from the DNC, but [it has] indicators that it was exfiltrated”. Henry reiterated that “there’s no evidence” that the data was exfiltrated several times during the interview.
Speaking to Sputnik in August 2020, William Binney, a cryptographer and former technical director at the US National Security Agency (NSA), explained why the DNC emails were not obtained through a “hack”, but downloaded on a thumb drive instead, which indicates that it was likely an “inside job”.
“We looked at the DNC emails that were documented by WikiLeaks on the web”, he said. “There are 35,813 emails, all with the same property FAT (file allocation table) formatting saying that this was read [i.e. downloaded] to a thumb drive or a CD-ROM before WikiLeaks got it to publish. Which meant it was physically transported to WikiLeaks. So, for us, that meant it was not a hack. Period”.
Referring to the “indicators” mentioned by Henry during his December 2017 testimony, Binney suggested that “the indications that it was [exfiltrated], is this FAT file format”.
Seth Rich’s Story is Still Shrouded in Secrecy
The story of Rich being the source for WikiLeaks has nevertheless continued to make the rounds in social and alternative media, while the US mainstream media has continued to denounce it as a conspiracy.
In August 2019, Yahoo investigative reporter Michael Isikoff told NPR’s Terry Gross that he had specifically asked Andrew McCabe, who was the acting director of the FBI at the time, whether the bureau had anything to do with Rich’s investigation. “McCabe says when he first heard this, he reached out to his agents and was told there’s nothing there”, Isikoff stressed. “There’s no there there”.
Nevertheless, the letter received by American attorney Ty Clevenger from a lawyer representing the FBI speaks to the contrary. The Epoch Times, a US-based conservative media outlet, stated on 11 December that it had “confirmed the email is legitimate”.
“In our conversation, Mr Clevenger spoke about a simple way FBI agents can keep evidence out of the public view and hide from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [requests]. They simply don’t log it into their database”, says Jason Goodman.
It remains unclear whether the bureau will provide Clevenger with the materials in question in response to his FOIA request. The letter says that the FBI is continuing the search and is also “working on getting the files from Seth Rich’s personal laptop into a format to be reviewed”, adding that “unfortunately, these efforts are hampered by FBI FOIA office’s reduction to a 50% staffing posture due to Covid”.
“It is difficult to know what Mr Clevenger will receive and when”, Goodman notes. “This is the back-and-forth dance of litigation. They’ve been ordered to produce materials, now it will be interesting to see if they actually do and how heavily redacted the released information will be. They could always claim ‘national security’ and limit the release”.
Meanwhile, the DNC employee’s murder continues to prompt new theories and official narratives, neither of which, according to the investigative journalist, properly explains what actually happened to Seth Rich.
Share this:
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
- Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
- Click to print (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
- More
- Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
Related
December 26, 2020 - Posted by aletho | Deception, Timeless or most popular | DNC, FBI, United States
No comments yet.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Featured Video
PROFESSOR SUCHARIT BHAKDI INTERVIEWED BY WILLEM ENGEL
For more videos go to the Aletho News – Video Category
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archives
Unsealed docs: Clinton was on ‘pedophile island’ w/ ‘young girls’ & cite Epstein saying former president ‘owed him favor’
RT | July 31, 2020
Newly unsealed files tied to the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case imply that former US President Bill Clinton visited the investor’s private island along with “young girls,” and that the FBI knew well about the minors’ abuse.
Comprising hundreds of pages of documents, the trove was released on Thursday night following a judge’s order last week to have it unsealed, over the objections of Ghislaine Maxwell, a former girlfriend to Epstein who has recently been charged as an accomplice in his alleged sex-trafficking operation.
The records stem from a 2015 defamation suit filed by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, which was placed under lock and key after the case was settled in 2017, but was recently unsealed, as a result of a lawsuit brought last year by conservative blogger Mike Cernovich and the Miami Herald newspaper.
Among other revelations, the documents indicate that former US president Bill Clinton consorted with “young girls” during at least one visit to Epstein’s private resort in the Virgin Islands, where the billionaire was said to host regular “sex orgies.”… continue
Aletho News Original Content
Three Mile Island, Global Warming and the CIA
By Aletho News | January 9, 2012
There appears to be something about launching bombs or missiles from afar onto cities and people that appeals to American military and political leaders. In part it has to do with a conscious desire to not risk American lives in ground combat. And in part, perhaps not entirely conscious, it has to do with not wishing to look upon the gory remains of the victims, allowing American GIs and TV viewers at home to cling to their warm fuzzy feelings about themselves, their government, and their marvelous “family values”. Washington officials are careful to distinguish between the explosives the US drops from the sky and “weapons of mass destruction” (WMD), which only the officially-designated enemies (ODE) are depraved enough to use. The US government speaks sternly of WMD, defining them as nuclear, chemical and biological in nature, and “indiscriminate” (meaning their use can’t be limited to military objectives), as opposed to the likes of American “precision” cruise missiles. This is indeed a shaky semantic leg to stand on, given the well-known extremely extensive damage to non-military targets, including numerous residences, schools and hospitals, even from American “smart” bombs, in almost all of the bombings listed below.
Moreover, Washington does not apply the term “weapons of mass destruction” to other weapons the US has regularly used, such as depleted uranium and cluster bombs, which can be, and often are, highly indiscriminate. … continue
About Aletho News’ Name
Blog Roll
Visits Since December 2009
- 4,208,087 hits
Looking for something?
Archives
Calendar
Categories
Aletho News Civil Liberties Corruption Deception Economics Environmentalism Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism Fake News False Flag Terrorism Full Spectrum Dominance Illegal Occupation Mainstream Media, Warmongering Militarism Nuclear Power Progressive Hypocrite Russophobia Science and Pseudo-Science Solidarity and Activism Subjugation - Torture Supremacism, Social Darwinism Timeless or most popular Video War Crimes Wars for IsraelTags
9/11 Afghanistan Africa AIPAC al-Qaeda Argentina Australia BBC Benjamin Netanyahu Bolivia Brazil Canada Central Intelligence Agency China CIA CNN Colombia Covid-19 Da’esh Donald Trump Egypt European Union Facebook FBI France Gaza Germany Google Hamas Hebron Hezbollah Hillary Clinton Human rights India Iran Iraq ISIS Israel Israeli settlement Japan Jerusalem John Kerry Korea Latin America Lebanon Libya Middle East National Security Agency NATO New York Times North Korea NSA Obama Pakistan Palestine Press TV Qatar Russia Sanctions against Iran Saudi Arabia Syria The Guardian Turkey Twitter UAE UK Ukraine United Nations United States USA Venezuela Washington Post West Bank Yemen ZionismRecent Comments
brianharryaustralia on UK Labour leader Starmer hired… 4justice on Facebook Censors Mexican Cardi… aletho on Facebook Censors Mexican Cardi… 4justice on Facebook Censors Mexican Cardi… brianharryaustralia on Facebook Censors Mexican Cardi… 4justice on Facebook Censors Mexican Cardi… brianharryaustralia on Facebook Censors Mexican Cardi… 4justice on Facebook Censors Mexican Cardi… brianharryaustralia on Facebook Censors Mexican Cardi… 4justice on Facebook Censors Mexican Cardi… aletho on Facebook Censors Mexican Cardi… Richard on Facebook Censors Mexican Cardi…
Aletho News
- Freedom Airway – #SolutionsWatch January 20, 2021
- Why has Israel banned Jenin, Jenin? It fears the Palestinian narrative January 20, 2021
- UK Labour leader Starmer hired former Israeli spy for social media team January 20, 2021
- The New Domestic War on Terror is Coming January 19, 2021
- Will Sir David Attenborough attempt to save Red-listed Kittiwakes from giant wind turbine project? January 19, 2021
- Biden’s Attack on the Keystone XL Pipeline Is Politics, Not Policy January 19, 2021
- Noted COVID expert Noam Chomsky compares anti-maskers to mass shooters January 19, 2021
- Biden appoints transgender Penn. official Rachel Levine despite grisly record on nursing home deaths January 19, 2021
- Why Twitter and FB must ban the NY Times January 19, 2021
- New York Bill Would Limit Warrantless Drone Spying and Hinder the Federal Surveillance State January 19, 2021
- Parents Shocked as Armed Cops Show Up at Their Homes to Talk About Kids’ Grades January 19, 2021
- PROFESSOR SUCHARIT BHAKDI INTERVIEWED BY WILLEM ENGEL January 19, 2021
- Hacked emails allegedly detail how EU drug regulator was pressured to approve Pfizer jab despite its ‘problems’ January 19, 2021
- The documentary, MLK/FBI, is just slick propaganda that reveals nothing new about the bureau’s harassment of King January 18, 2021
- Meeting between Moldovan and Ukrainian leaders was to coordinate actions against Russia January 18, 2021
- How soon will the Left eat their own? January 18, 2021
- The Unwelcome Return of the Real Purveyors of Violence January 18, 2021
- Children Of The Great Reset January 18, 2021
If Americans Knew
- Balloons: A rudimentary weapon of Palestinian desperation January 19, 2021
- WATCH: Congress members, US officials pledge allegiance to a foreign country January 19, 2021
- Headlines from Palestine that Israel doesn’t want you to read January 19, 2021
Not A Lot Of People Know That
Sebastian Rushworth M.D.
- New perks for patrons January 19, 2021
- Is ivermectin effective against covid? January 17, 2021
More Links
Contact:
atheonews (at) gmail.comDisclaimer
This site is provided as a research and reference tool. Although we make every reasonable effort to ensure that the information and data provided at this site are useful, accurate, and current, we cannot guarantee that the information and data provided here will be error-free. By using this site, you assume all responsibility for and risk arising from your use of and reliance upon the contents of this site.
This site and the information available through it do not, and are not intended to constitute legal advice. Should you require legal advice, you should consult your own attorney.
Nothing within this site or linked to by this site constitutes investment advice or medical advice.
Materials accessible from or added to this site by third parties, such as comments posted, are strictly the responsibility of the third party who added such materials or made them accessible and we neither endorse nor undertake to control, monitor, edit or assume responsibility for any such third-party material.
The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein.
The word “alleged” is deemed to occur before the word “fraud.” Since the rule of law still applies. To peasants, at least.
Fair Use
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more info go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
DMCA Contact
This is information for anyone that wishes to challenge our “fair use” of copyrighted material.
If you are a legal copyright holder or a designated agent for such and you believe that content residing on or accessible through our website infringes a copyright and falls outside the boundaries of “Fair Use”, please send a notice of infringement by contacting atheonews@gmail.com.
We will respond and take necessary action immediately.
If notice is given of an alleged copyright violation we will act expeditiously to remove or disable access to the material(s) in question.
All 3rd party material posted on this website is copyright the respective owners / authors. Aletho News makes no claim of copyright on such material.
Leave a Reply