View source for Social:Murder of Seth Rich

{{Short description|Unsolved 2016 homicide}}
{{pp-semi|small=yes}}
{{infobox civilian attack
| title = Murder of Seth Rich
| image =
| image_name = 
| caption = Seth Rich
| date = {{start date|2016|7|10}}
| type = Homicide by shooting
| time = 4:20 a.m. EST (approximate)
| location = Bloomingdale neighborhood<br />(Ward 5, [[Place:Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C.]])
| coordinates = 
| also known as =
| cause = 
| first reporter =
| filmed by =
| outcome = 
| injuries =
| fatalities = 
| burial =
| charges = 
| verdict = 
| convictions =
| publication bans =
| litigation =
| inquiries = Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia
| inquest =
| perps =  Unknown<ref name="voxmurder"/>
| coroner = Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Washington D.C.
{{Infobox event
| title = <br />
| child = yes
| outcome = Cold case
}}
}}
The '''murder of Seth Rich''' occurred on July 10, 2016, at 4:20&nbsp;a.m. in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of [[Place:Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="Morton">{{cite news |last=Morton |first=Joseph |url=http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/d-c-police-family-of-slain-dnc-staffer-seth-rich/article_dc98d83c-c674-5136-b681-b20d930fcb0c.html |title=D.C. police, family of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich urge anyone with information about murder to come forward |work=Omaha World-Herald |date=August 4, 2016 |access-date=February 11, 2018 |archive-date=July 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710145354/https://www.omaha.com/news/crime/d-c-police-family-of-slain-dnc-staffer-seth-rich/article_dc98d83c-c674-5136-b681-b20d930fcb0c.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Rich died about an hour and a half after being shot twice in the back. The perpetrators were never apprehended; police suspected he had been the victim of an attempted robbery.<ref name="voxmurder">{{cite news|last=Guo|first=Jeff|date=May 24, 2017|title=The bonkers Seth Rich conspiracy theory, explained|work=Vox|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/24/15685560/seth-rich-conspiracy-theory-explained-fox-news-hannity|access-date=May 29, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Isikoff_7/16/2019"/>

The 27-year-old Rich was an employee of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and his murder spawned several right-wing conspiracy theories,<ref name="voxmurder"/><ref name=":0">{{cite news|last=Bromwich|first=Jonah Engel|title=How the Murder of a D.N.C. Staffer Fueled Conspiracy Theories|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/us/seth-rich-dnc-wikileaks.html|newspaper={{wipe|The New York Times}}|date=May 17, 2017|access-date=May 17, 2017}}</ref> including the false claim, contradicted by the law enforcement branches that investigated the murder, that Rich had been involved with the [[Organization:2016 Democratic National Committee email leak|leaked DNC emails in 2016]].<ref name="eugenekiely" /><ref name=politifact /> It was also contradicted by the July 2018 indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence agents for hacking the e-mail accounts and networks of Democratic Party officials<ref name=CNNHackIndictment>{{cite news |last1=Polantz |first1=Katelyn |last2=Collinson |first2=Stephen |title=12 Russians indicted in Mueller investigation|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/13/politics/russia-investigation-indictments/index.html|website=CNN|date=July 14, 2018|access-date=August 11, 2019}}</ref> and by the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion the leaked DNC emails were part of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.<ref name="eugenekiely">{{cite news|last=Kiely|first=Eugene|title=Gingrich Spreads Conspiracy Theory|url=http://www.factcheck.org/2017/05/gingrich-spreads-conspiracy-theory/ |website=FactCheck.org|date=May 22, 2017|access-date=May 23, 2017}}</ref><ref name="politifact">{{cite news|last=Carroll|first=Lauren|title=The baseless claim that slain DNC staffer Seth Rich gave emails to WikiLeaks|url=http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/may/23/newt-gingrich/claim-slain-dnc-staffer-seth-rich-gave-emails-wiki/|website=PolitiFact.com|date=May 23, 2017|access-date=August 11, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Cyber-spying: Bear on bear |url=https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21707574-whats-worse-being-attacked-russian-hacker-being-attacked-two-bear-bear |newspaper=[[Finance:The Economist|The Economist]] |date=September 22, 2016 |access-date=May 21, 2017}}</ref> Fact-checking websites like PolitiFact,<ref name=politifact /><ref name=politifactgillin /> [[Philosophy:Snopes|Snopes]],<ref name=":4"/> and FactCheck.org stated that the theories were false and unfounded.<ref name="eugenekiely" /> ''{{wipe|The New York Times}}'', the ''{{wipe|Los Angeles Times}}'' and ''{{wipe|The Washington Post}}'' wrote that the promotion of these conspiracy theories was an example of fake news.<ref name="fakenewsendures">{{cite news|last=Rutenberg|first=Jim|title=Sean Hannity, a Murder and Why Fake News Endures|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/business/media/seth-rich-fox-news-sean-hannity.html|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|date=May 24, 2017|access-date=August 11, 2019}}</ref><ref name=shalby /><ref name="fakenewsstillworks">{{cite news|last=Weigel|first=David|title=The Seth Rich conspiracy shows how fake news still works|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/05/20/the-seth-rich-conspiracy-shows-how-fake-news-still-works/|newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}}|date=May 20, 2017|access-date=May 21, 2017}}</ref>

Rich's family denounced the conspiracy theorists and said that those individuals were exploiting their son's death for political gain, and their spokesperson called the conspiracy theorists "disgusting [[Medicine:Antisocial personality disorder|sociopaths]]".<ref name="washpostparents">{{cite news |last1=Rich |first1=Mary |last2=Rich |first2=Joel |title=We're Seth Rich's parents. Stop politicizing our son's murder. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/were-seth-richs-parents-stop-politicizing-our-sons-murder/2017/05/23/164cf4dc-3fee-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |date=May 23, 2017 |access-date=May 23, 2017}}</ref><ref name="sethrichparents">{{cite news|last=Guttman|first=Nathan|date=May 17, 2017|title=Seth Rich Parents Refute New Claims On Wikileaks Contact|work=The Forward|url=http://forward.com/fast-forward/372070/seth-rich-parents-refute-new-claims-on-wikileaks-contact/|access-date=May 17, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/family-of-slain-dnc-staffer-fights-back-against-conpiracy-theories-with-cease-and-desist-letter/2017/05/20/6da279c2-3d6f-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html |title=Family of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich sends 'cease and desist' letter to Fox News contributor |last=Stein |first=Perry |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |date=May 20, 2017 |access-date=May 21, 2017}}</ref> They requested a retraction and apology from Fox News after the network promoted the conspiracy theory,<ref name=Cease /> and sent a [[Social:Cease and desist|cease and desist]] letter to the investigator Fox News used.<ref name=politifact /><ref name=":3"/><ref name="Cease" /> The investigator stated that he had no evidence to back up the claims which Fox News attributed to him.<ref name="eugenekiely" /><ref name=politifact /><ref name="FoxRetraction">{{cite news |date=May 23, 2017 |url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/23/statement-on-coverage-seth-rich-murder-investigation.html |work=Fox News |title=Statement on coverage of Seth Rich murder investigation |quote=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.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523182512/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/23/statement-on-coverage-seth-rich-murder-investigation.html|archive-date=May 23, 2017}}</ref> Fox News issued a retraction, but did not apologize or publicly explain what went wrong.<ref name=":1">{{cite news|last=Folkenflik|first=David|date=2017-09-15|title=No Apology, No Explanation: Fox News And The Seth Rich Story |work=Morning Edition|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/09/15/551163406/fox-news-has-yet-to-explain-what-what-wrong-in-seth-rich-story|access-date=September 15, 2017}}</ref> In response, the Rich family sued Fox News in March 2018 for having engaged in "extreme and outrageous conduct" by fabricating the story defaming their son and thereby intentionally inflicting emotional distress on them.<ref name="Grynbaum_3/13/2018">{{cite web |last=Grynbaum |first=Michael M. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/business/fox-news-seth-rich-lawsuit.html |title=Family of Seth Rich Sues Fox News Over Retracted Article |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |date=March 13, 2018 |access-date=June 10, 2018}}</ref><ref name="maddaus">{{cite web|last=Maddaus|first=Gene|url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/seth-rich-fox-news-lawsuit-dismissed-1202893525/|title=Seth Rich Family's Lawsuit Against Fox News Dismissed|work=Variety|date=August 2, 2018|access-date=January 18, 2019}}</ref> Fox News reached a seven-figure settlement with the Rich family in October 2020.<ref name=Isikoff24Nov2000>{{cite news|last=Isikoff|first=Michael|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/fox-paid-seven-figures-to-settle-lawsuit-over-bogus-seth-rich-conspiracy-story-003236858.html|title=Fox paid seven figures to settle lawsuit over bogus Seth Rich conspiracy story|work=[[Software:Yahoo! News|Yahoo! News]]|date=November 24, 2020|access-date=January 18, 2021}}</ref><ref name=SmithJan182021/>

==Seth Rich==
===Early life and career===
Rich grew up in a Jewish family in Omaha, Nebraska.<ref name="obit">{{cite news |url=http://www.omaha.com/obits/rich-seth-c/article_957ece9b-67c3-53d6-b88b-0c78d813b299.html |title=Rich, Seth C. |newspaper=Omaha World-Herald |date=July 13, 2016 |access-date=August 11, 2016 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312160250/http://www.omaha.com/obits/rich-seth-c/article_957ece9b-67c3-53d6-b88b-0c78d813b299.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Clinton">{{cite news |last=Hermann |first=Peter |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2016/07/12/hillary-clinton-invokes-name-of-slain-dnc-aide-seth-rich-in-calling-for-gun-control |title=Hillary Clinton invokes name of slain DNC aide Seth Rich in calling for gun control |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |date=July 12, 2016 |access-date=August 11, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2017-05-24|title=Parents of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich decry politicization of their son's murder|agency=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|url=https://www.jta.org/2017/05/24/united-states/parents-of-slain-dnc-staffer-seth-rich-decry-politicization-of-their-sons-murder|access-date=July 19, 2020}}</ref> He volunteered for the Nebraska Democratic Party, interned for Senator Ben Nelson, was active in Jewish outreach,<ref>{{Cite news|date=2017-05-19|title=Seth Rich's family calls on Fox to retract WikiLeaks allegations|agency=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|work=The Times of Israel |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/seth-richs-family-calls-on-fox-to-retract-wikileaks-allegations/|access-date=July 19, 2020}}</ref> and worked with the United States Census Bureau.<ref>{{cite news |last=Morton |first=Joseph |url=http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/year-old-creighton-grad-dnc-staffer-shot-dead-in-d/article_023644eb-87b4-5c36-be7b-3edf96d02ebe.html |title=27-year-old Creighton grad, DNC staffer shot dead in D.C. wanted 'to try to save the world' |work=Omaha World-Herald |date=July 13, 2016 |access-date=May 29, 2017 |archive-date=July 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701155540/http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/year-old-creighton-grad-dnc-staffer-shot-dead-in-d/article_023644eb-87b4-5c36-be7b-3edf96d02ebe.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="eulogy">{{cite news|author=Abraham|first=Steven|date=July 22, 2016|title=In Memoriam: Seth Conrad Rich|work=The Jewish Press <!-- wikilink would link to unrelated Brooklyn paper -->|location=Omaha|url=http://www.jewishomaha.org/jewish-press/2016/seth-conrad-rich/|access-date=August 12, 2016|archive-date=August 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826102819/http://www.jewishomaha.org/jewish-press/2016/seth-conrad-rich/|url-status=live}} Eulogy given by Rabbi Steven Abraham of Beth El Synagogue at the service on July 13, 2016.</ref> In 2011, he graduated from Creighton University with a degree in political science.<ref name=eulogy /><ref>{{cite news |last=Orti |first=Camila |url=http://www.ketv.com/article/creighton-grad-living-in-d-c-killed-in-weekend-shooting/7661364 |title=Creighton grad living in D.C. killed in weekend shooting |date=July 12, 2016 |publisher=KETV |access-date=May 29, 2017 |archive-date=May 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170530231427/http://www.ketv.com/article/creighton-grad-living-in-d-c-killed-in-weekend-shooting/7661364 |url-status=live }}</ref> He moved to Washington, D.C., to work for pollster Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.<ref name=eulogy /> 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.<ref name=Joseph/><ref>{{cite news |author=Mallory Hughes |url=http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/dc/dc-man-fatally-shot-investigation-underway/269559837 |title=DNC Employee Fatally Shot in DC |publisher=WUSA |date=August 11, 2016 |access-date=September 2, 2016 |archive-date=September 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915211144/http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/dc/dc-man-fatally-shot-investigation-underway/269559837 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="rollcall">{{cite news |last=Rojas |first=Warren |title=DNC Staffer Killed in DC |url=http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/dnc-staffer-seth-conrad-rich-murder-dc |work=Roll Call |date=July 11, 2016 |access-date=September 2, 2016 }}</ref>

===Shooting and death===
On Sunday, July 10, 2016, at 4:20&nbsp;a.m., Rich was shot about a block from his apartment at the southwest corner of Flagler Place and W Street Northwest<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/bloomingdale-residents-question-police-after-killing-robberies-in-neighborhood/2016/07/19/99ce212c-4dab-11e6-a7d8-13d06b37f256_story.html|title=Bloomingdale residents question police after killing, robberies in neighborhood|newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}}|access-date=October 6, 2018}}</ref> in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C.<ref name="newsweek">{{cite news |last=Stein |first=Jeff |title=Seth Rich: Inside the Killing of the DNC Staffer |url=http://www.newsweek.com/seth-rich-murder-dnc-hack-julian-assange-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-492084 |work=Newsweek |date=August 20, 2016 |access-date=August 20, 2016 }}</ref><ref name="nbc-w">{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Seth-Rich-Murder-Investigation-389218672.html |title=Mother, Police Seeking Tips on Killing of DNC Staffer Seth Rich|work=NBC |date=August 5, 2016 |access-date=May 31, 2021 }}</ref>

Earlier that night he had been at Lou's City Bar, a sports pub {{convert|1.8|mi|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&nbsp;a.m.<ref name="WhoIs">{{cite news |first=Clark |last=Mindock |title=Who is Seth Rich – and was his death really connected to Hillary Clinton? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/seth-rich-who-is-he-wikileaks-murder-hillary-clinton-conspiracy-explained-a7739606.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/seth-rich-who-is-he-wikileaks-murder-hillary-clinton-conspiracy-explained-a7739606.html |archive-date=June 18, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=The Independent |date=May 16, 2017 |access-date=May 22, 2017}}</ref> Police were alerted to gunfire at 4:20&nbsp;a.m. by an automated [[Engineering:Gunfire locator|gunfire locator]].<ref name="shotspotter">{{cite news |last1=Hermann |first1=Peter |last2=Williams |first2=Clarence |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/police-identify-man-fatally-shot-in-bloomingdale/2016/07/11/4236fd1a-4754-11e6-90a8-fb84201e0645_story.html |title=Slain Democratic National Committee staffer 'wanted to make a difference' |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |date=July 11, 2016 |access-date=August 13, 2016 }}</ref> Within about one minute after the gunfire, police officers found Rich conscious with multiple gunshot wounds.<ref name=chrisharris /> He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |url=https://mpdc.dc.gov/release/homicide-2100-block-flagler-place-northwest |title=Homicide: 2100 Block of Flagler Place, Northwest {{!}} mpdc |date=July 11, 2016 |publisher=Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia |access-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-date=May 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170528033009/https://mpdc.dc.gov/release/homicide-2100-block-flagler-place-northwest |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/seth-rich-washington-dc-murder-victim-political-meme-weirdest-presidential-election-a7535856.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/seth-rich-washington-dc-murder-victim-political-meme-weirdest-presidential-election-a7535856.html |archive-date=June 18, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=The DC murder victim who became a political meme |last=Roig-Franzia |first=Manuel |date=January 19, 2017 |work=The Independent |access-date=May 25, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Khan |first=Mariam |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/dnc-employee-shot-dead-dc-weekend/story?id=40498551 |title=DNC Employee Shot Dead in DC Over the Weekend |work=ABC News |date=June 11, 2020 |access-date=May 31, 2021}}</ref> over {{frac|1|1|2}} hours after being shot.<ref name="Isikoff_7/16/2019">{{cite web | last=Isikoff |first=Michael |title=How a 'slick talker' lobbyist boosted the false Seth Rich murder conspiracy - before getting shot himself |work=Yahoo News |date=July 16, 2019 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/conspiracyland-jack-burkmans-role-in-the-seth-rich-conspiracy-100000544.html |access-date=July 20, 2019}}</ref> That he was not shot in the head is seen as evidence against the shooting having been an "assassination".<ref name="Isikoff_7/16/2019"/> According to police, he died from two shots to the back<ref name="newsweek"/><ref name=nbc-w/> and may have been killed in an attempted robbery. Residents noted the neighborhood had been plagued by robberies.<ref name="newsweek"/>

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&nbsp;... They didn't finish robbing him, they just took his life."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Man-Shot-Killed-in-Northwest-DC-386316391.html |title=27-Year-Old DNC Staffer Seth Rich Shot, Killed in Northwest DC |date=July 11, 2016 |last1=Collins |first1=Pat |last2=Swalec |first2=Andrea |work=NBC |access-date=January 5, 2017 }}</ref> The police told the family they had found a surveillance recording showing a glimpse of the legs of two people who could be the killers.<ref name="washingtonpost_january_18_2017" />

==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.<ref name=shotspotter/><ref name=wusa9honors/> Two days after the shooting, Hillary Clinton spoke of his death during a speech advocating [[Engineering:Gun control|limiting the availability of guns]].<ref name=Clinton/><ref name=Joseph/>
[[File:Seth Rich memorial.jpg|thumb|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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://komonews.com/news/nation-world/family-of-murdered-dnc-employee-seth-rich-speaks-out-on-crime-watch |title=Family of murdered DNC employee Seth Rich speaks out on 'Crime Watch' |publisher=KOMO-TV |date=September 30, 2016 |access-date=October 4, 2016 |archive-date=October 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004160517/http://komonews.com/news/nation-world/family-of-murdered-dnc-employee-seth-rich-speaks-out-on-crime-watch |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Kurzius |first=Rachel |url=https://dcist.com/story/16/10/03/seth-rich-family-interview/ |title=Murdered DNC Staffer's Mom: 'Seth Would Be So Offended' By Conspiracy Theories |work=DCist |date=October 3, 2016 |access-date=May 31, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003165726/http://dcist.com/2016/10/seth_rich_family_interview.php |archive-date=October 3, 2016 }}</ref> In October 2016, a plaque and bike rack outside the DNC headquarters were dedicated to Rich's memory.<ref name="wusa9honors">{{cite news |last=Burdine |first=Nikki |url=http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/dnc-honors-murdered-staffer-seth-rich/337062646 |title=DNC honors murdered staffer Seth Rich |publisher=WUSA |date=October 17, 2016 |access-date=October 19, 2016 |archive-date=October 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019144311/http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/dnc-honors-murdered-staffer-seth-rich/337062646 |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 2017, the Beth El Synagogue in Omaha named after Rich an existing scholarship that helps Jewish children attend summer camps.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Michael |url=http://www.omaha.com/columnists/kelly/kelly-camp-scholarship-memorializes-omahan-seth-rich-who-was-killed/article_e3bdbe5d-ca21-5903-9ec0-9239ae56773c.html |title=Kelly: Camp scholarship memorializes Omahan Seth Rich, who was killed in D.C. in July |date=February 25, 2017 |work=Omaha World-Herald |access-date=February 26, 2017 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225202156/http://www.omaha.com/columnists/kelly/kelly-camp-scholarship-memorializes-omahan-seth-rich-who-was-killed/article_e3bdbe5d-ca21-5903-9ec0-9239ae56773c.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Rich family accepted the ''pro bono'' public relations services of Republican lobbyist Jack Burkman in September 2016.<ref name=shalby/> The Rich family and Burkman held a joint press conference on the murder in November 2016.<ref name=shalby/><ref>{{cite news |last=Guttman |first=Nathan |url=http://forward.com/fast-forward/364918/fury-at-conspiracy-theory-attorney-from-family-of-murdered-dnc-staffer/ |title=Seth Rich's Family Furious At Attorney For Claiming Russia Behind The Murder |work=The Forward |access-date=May 27, 2017 |archive-date=May 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516005342/http://forward.com/fast-forward/364918/fury-at-conspiracy-theory-attorney-from-family-of-murdered-dnc-staffer/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Who-Murdered-Seth-Rich-Billboards-Ads-to-be-Posted-in-Search-of-Killer-411119145.html |title='Who Murdered Seth Rich?': Billboards to be Posted in DC |website=WRC-TV |date=January 18, 2017 |access-date=May 27, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX8cLniIfOI |title=Searching for clues in the Seth Rich murder |date=May 11, 2017 |publisher=The Washington Post |access-date=May 27, 2017 |via=YouTube}}</ref> In late February, Burkman told media outlets he had a lead that the Russian government was involved in Rich's death,<ref>{{cite web |last=Guttman |first=Nathan |url=http://forward.com/fast-forward/364499/was-russia-behind-mystery-murder-of-dnc-worker-seth-rich/ |title=Was Russia Behind Mystery Murder Of DNC Worker Seth Rich? |work=Forward |date=March 1, 2017 |access-date=May 27, 2017 |archive-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601051128/http://forward.com/fast-forward/364499/was-russia-behind-mystery-murder-of-dnc-worker-seth-rich/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the Rich family then distanced itself from Burkman.<ref name="DCist Family Responds">{{cite web |last=Kurzius |first=Rachel |url=http://dcist.com/2017/03/seth_rich_russian_conspiracy_burkman.php |title='It's Hurtful': Seth Rich's Family Responds To Latest Conspiracy Theory About His Murder |work=DCist |date=March 2, 2017 |access-date=June 1, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714232639/http://dcist.com/2017/03/seth_rich_russian_conspiracy_burkman.php |archive-date=July 14, 2017 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="NBC GoFundMe">{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Seth-Rich-Family-Seeks-Funds-to-Hire-Help-in-Mans-Death-416770403.html |title=Family Seeks Funds for Answers, Leads in Seth Rich Death |publisher=WRC-TV |access-date=March 22, 2017 |archive-date=March 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323143933/http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Seth-Rich-Family-Seeks-Funds-to-Hire-Help-in-Mans-Death-416770403.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Rich family was approached by Ed Butowsky (a friend of Trump advisor [[Biography:Steve Bannon|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.<ref name=":3"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Collins |first=Ben |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/05/16/the-big-money-pr-war-over-seth-richs-death |title=The Big-Money PR War Over Seth Rich's Death |date=May 16, 2017 |work=The Daily Beast |access-date=May 27, 2017 |archive-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524075722/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/05/16/the-big-money-pr-war-over-seth-richs-death |url-status=live}}</ref> When questioned by CNN, Butowsky denied involvement in the case, but later admitted he was involved and had offered to pay Wheeler's fees.<ref name="Dallas News">{{cite web |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/dallas/2017/05/19/dallas-financier-got-tangled-conspiracy-theories-slaying-dnc-staffer-seth-rich |title=How a Dallas financier got tangled up in conspiracy theories about slaying of DNC staffer Seth Rich |last=Chiquillo |first=Julieta |date=May 19, 2017 |work=Dallas News |access-date=May 31, 2017 |archive-date=May 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519173751/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/dallas/2017/05/19/dallas-financier-got-tangled-conspiracy-theories-slaying-dnc-staffer-seth-rich |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Rutenberg |first=Jim |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/business/media/seth-rich-fox-news-sean-hannity.html |title=Sean Hannity, a Murder and Why Fake News Endures |date=May 24, 2017 |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |access-date=May 31, 2017 |archive-date=March 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328160625/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/business/media/seth-rich-fox-news-sean-hannity.html |url-status=live}}</ref> After Wheeler asserted links between Rich and Wikileaks in a Fox affiliate interview on May 15, 2017—an assertion he later backpedaled from<ref>{{cite web |date=May 15, 2017 |last=Marraco |first=Marina |title=Family's private investigator: There is evidence Seth Rich had contact with WikiLeaks prior to death |url=http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/254852337-story |access-date=June 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613004646/http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/254852337-story |archive-date=June 13, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>—the family spokesman said that the family regretted working with Wheeler.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thehill.com/homenews/media/344745-lawsuit-claims-trump-involvement-in-retracted-fox-story-on-seth-rich |title=Lawsuit claims Trump involvement in retracted Fox story on Seth Rich |first=Ian |last=Swanson |date=August 1, 2017 |work=The Hill |access-date=August 2, 2017}}</ref>

==Rewards==
The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC) posted its customary reward of $25,000 for information about the death.<ref name="Joseph" /><ref name="chrisharris">{{cite news |author=Harris, Chris |url=http://www.people.com/article/friends-remember-dnc-staffer-seth-rich |title=Friends of Slain DNC Staffer Seth Rich Remember Him as 'Honest' and 'Self-Sacrificing' |work=People |date=July 13, 2016 |access-date=August 12, 2016}}</ref>

On August 9, 2016, [[Social:WikiLeaks|WikiLeaks]] announced a $20,000 reward for information about Rich's murder leading to a conviction.<ref name="OWH_vow" /><ref>{{cite news |first=Stephen |last=Tschida |title=WikiLeaks offering $20,000 reward for information regarding D.C. murder of DNC's Seth Rich |url=http://wjla.com/news/local/wikileaks-offering-20000-reward-for-information-regarding-dc-murder-of-dncs-seth-rich |publisher=WJLA-TV |date=August 9, 2016 |access-date=May 23, 2017 |archive-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170521035309/http://wjla.com/news/local/wikileaks-offering-20000-reward-for-information-regarding-dc-murder-of-dncs-seth-rich |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="WaPo10Aug16">{{cite news |last1=Hermann |first1=Peter |last2=Williams |first2=Clarence |date=August 9, 2016 |title=WikiLeaks offers reward for help finding DNC staffer's killer |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/wikileaks-offers-reward-in-killing-of-dnc-staffer-in-washington/2016/08/09/f84fcbf4-5e5b-11e6-8e45-477372e89d78_story.html |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |access-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-date=May 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520231824/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/wikileaks-offers-reward-in-killing-of-dnc-staffer-in-washington/2016/08/09/f84fcbf4-5e5b-11e6-8e45-477372e89d78_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=August 10, 2016 |publisher=Fox News |title=Assange implies murdered DNC staffer was WikiLeaks' source |url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/08/10/assange-implies-murdered-dnc-staffer-was-wikileaks-source.html |access-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170521124352/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/08/10/assange-implies-murdered-dnc-staffer-was-wikileaks-source.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Rich's family said they were unable to verify this reward offer.<ref name="OWH_vow">{{cite news |url=http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/parents-of-dnc-staffer-seth-rich-vow-to-find-his/article_b55fc7c9-e5d7-5e25-9e80-c7d2a264441b.html |title=Parents of DNC staffer Seth Rich vow to find his killer; reward now $125,000 |last=Morton |first=Joseph |date=November 23, 2016 |work=Omaha World Herald |access-date=January 23, 2017 |archive-date=November 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113164242/http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/parents-of-dnc-staffer-seth-rich-vow-to-find-his/article_b55fc7c9-e5d7-5e25-9e80-c7d2a264441b.html |url-status=live}}</ref> WikiLeaks stated that this offer should not be taken as implying Rich had been involved in leaking information to it.<ref name="Joseph" />

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.<ref name="washingtonpost_january_18_2017">{{cite news |last=Roig-Franzia |first=Manuel |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/seth-rich-wasnt-just-another-dc-murder-victim-he-was-a-meme-in-the-weirdest-presidential-election-of-our-times/2017/01/18/ee8e27f8-dcc0-11e6-918c-99ede3c8cafa_story.html |title=Seth Rich wasn't just another D.C. murder victim. He was a meme in the weirdest presidential election of our times |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |date=January 18, 2017 |access-date=January 20, 2017 |archive-date=January 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119075134/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/seth-rich-wasnt-just-another-dc-murder-victim-he-was-a-meme-in-the-weirdest-presidential-election-of-our-times/2017/01/18/ee8e27f8-dcc0-11e6-918c-99ede3c8cafa_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="OWH_vow" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://wjla.com/news/local/gop-lobbyist-adds-5k-to-reward-for-info-on-murder-of-former-dnc-staffer-seth-rich |title=GOP lobbyist adds $5K to reward for info on murder of former DNC staffer Seth Rich |publisher=WJLA-TV |date=December 5, 2016 |access-date=May 28, 2017 |archive-date=May 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515054126/http://wjla.com/news/local/gop-lobbyist-adds-5k-to-reward-for-info-on-murder-of-former-dnc-staffer-seth-rich |url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news |last=Kutner |first=Max |url=http://www.newsweek.com/gop-lobbyist-reward-seth-rich-dnc-499653 |title=A GOP lobbyist will pay $100,000 to learn who killed DNC staffer Seth Rich |date=September 16, 2016 |work=Newsweek |access-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525014348/http://www.newsweek.com/gop-lobbyist-reward-seth-rich-dnc-499653 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Conspiracy theories==

===Origins===

====Beginnings on social media====
Political conspiracy theories and racially charged comments started to appear on social media the day after Rich's death.<ref>{{cite news|last=Heat Street Staff|url=https://heatst.com/politics/dnc-staffer-seth-rich-shot-dead-conspiracy-theories/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712192454/https://heatst.com/politics/dnc-staffer-seth-rich-shot-dead-conspiracy-theories/ |title= Beloved DNC Staffer Seth Rich Shot Dead in the Back in DC, Just Hours After Calling For Dallas Unity; Conspiracy Theories Abound |website=Heat Street|archive-date=July 12, 2016|access-date=July 13, 2019}}</ref><ref name="WaPo_7/9/19">{{cite web|last=Bump|first=Philip|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/09/dont-blame-seth-rich-conspiracy-russians-blame-americans/|title=Don't blame the Seth Rich conspiracy on Russians. Blame Americans.|date=July 9, 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=July 13, 2019|archive-date=July 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710212554/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/09/dont-blame-seth-rich-conspiracy-russians-blame-americans/|url-status=live}}</ref> Within days, right-wing conspiracy theories began circulating,<ref name="evenabout" /><ref name="bonkers" /><ref name="sethrichhomicide" /> including false claims that his murder was connected to the [[Organization:2016 Democratic National Committee email leak|DNC email leak of 2016]]<ref name=":0" /> or the FBI's investigation of the Clinton Foundation.<ref name="sethrichhomicide">{{cite web |first=Kim |last=LaCapria |url=http://www.snopes.com/seth-conrad-rich/ |title=Seth Rich Homicide |publisher=[[Philosophy:Snopes.com|Snopes.com]] |date=July 14, 2016 |access-date=May 29, 2017 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125112743/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/seth-conrad-rich/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="John Whitehouse">{{cite web |last=Whitehouse |first=John |url=https://www.salon.com/2017/05/27/how-the-murder-of-a-dnc-staffer-turned-into-a-right-wing-conspiracy_partner/ |title=How the murder of a DNC staffer turned into a right-wing conspiracy |date=May 27, 2017 |work=Salon |access-date=March 14, 2018 |archive-date=March 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314104649/https://www.salon.com/2017/05/27/how-the-murder-of-a-dnc-staffer-turned-into-a-right-wing-conspiracy_partner/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

A post on Twitter before Rich's memorial service spread the idea that his killing was a political assassination.<ref name="evenabout">{{cite news |url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/05/is-this-even-about-seth-rich-at-all.html |work=New York |title=Is This Even About Seth Rich at All? |first=Olivia |last=Nuzzi |date=May 28, 2017 |access-date=May 29, 2017 |archive-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601002736/http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/05/is-this-even-about-seth-rich-at-all.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Subsequently, the conspiracy theory was spread on the subreddit /r/The Donald, and on July 29, 2016, the website ''Heat Street'' reported on these [[Company:Reddit|Reddit]] posts.<ref name="John Whitehouse"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Zanotti |first=Emily |url=http://heatst.com:80/politics/still-no-clues-in-murder-of-dncs-seth-rich-as-conspiracy-theories-thicken/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160930120844/http://heatst.com/politics/still-no-clues-in-murder-of-dncs-seth-rich-as-conspiracy-theories-thicken/ |title=Dem Aide Seth Rich's Death Still Inspiring Conspiracy Theories |url-status=dead |date=July 29, 2016 |archive-date=September 30, 2016 |work=Heat Street |access-date=March 14, 2018 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Reddit users attempted to tie the homicide to the [[Unsolved:Clinton body count conspiracy theory|Clinton body count conspiracy theory]].<ref name="bonkers">{{cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/24/15685560/seth-rich-conspiracy-theory-explained-fox-news-hannity |publisher=Vox.com |title=The bonkers Seth Rich conspiracy theory, explained |date=May 24, 2017 |first=Jeff |last=Guo |access-date=May 29, 2017 |archive-date=June 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612231945/https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/24/15685560/seth-rich-conspiracy-theory-explained-fox-news-hannity |url-status=live }}</ref> The conspiracy theory was later popularized by Donald Trump political adviser Roger Stone via his Twitter account.<ref name="evenabout" />

According to 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 as the real perpetrators of the theft.<ref>{{cite news |last=Campbell |first=Duncan |url=https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252445769/Briton-ran-pro-Kremlin-disinformation-campaign-that-helped-Trump-deny-Russian-links |title=Briton ran pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign that helped Trump deny Russian links |date=July 31, 2018 |publisher=Computer Weekly |access-date=October 31, 2018 |archive-date=October 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031105221/https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252445769/Briton-ran-pro-Kremlin-disinformation-campaign-that-helped-Trump-deny-Russian-links |url-status=live }}</ref> Datestamps on the DNC files were altered to show the data had been obtained on July 5, 2016, five days before Rich's death, and the time zone was changed to Eastern Time, within which Washington, D.C., falls. [[Biography:Guccifer 2.0|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.<ref>Tucker, Patrick (August 2, 2018). [https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2018/08/how-russian-hackers-amplified-seth-rich-conspiracy-until-it-reached-donald-trump-and-cia/150263/ "A new report claims that Russian hackers altered dates in stolen documents to frame the DNC staffer for the theft."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825224852/https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2018/08/how-russian-hackers-amplified-seth-rich-conspiracy-until-it-reached-donald-trump-and-cia/150263/ |date=August 25, 2018 }} ''Defense One''. Retrieved August 25, 2018.</ref>

====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.<ref name="nieuws">{{cite web |url=https://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2124316-assange-belooft-nieuwe-onthullingen-over-clinton.html |title=Assange belooft nieuwe onthullingen over Clinton |last=Nieuwsuur |date=August 9, 2016 |language=nl |publisher=Nieuwsuur |via=YouTube |access-date=March 18, 2018 |archive-date=March 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319084947/https://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2124316-assange-belooft-nieuwe-onthullingen-over-clinton.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Unbidden, Assange brought up the case of Seth Rich. When asked directly whether Rich was a source, Assange said "we don't comment on who our sources are".<ref name="youtube_Kp7FkLBRpKg">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp7FkLBRpKg |title=Julian Assange on Seth Rich |last=Nieuwsuur |date=August 9, 2016 |via=YouTube |access-date=August 2, 2017 |archive-date=August 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802061038/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp7FkLBRpKg |url-status=live }}</ref> Subsequent statements by WikiLeaks emphasized that the organization was not naming Rich as a source.<ref name="Joseph">{{cite news |last=Morton |first=Joseph |url=http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/wikileaks-offers-reward-for-help-finding-omaha-native-seth-rich/article_cfb287bc-5e98-11e6-ae0c-8b471b8cbfbb.html |title=WikiLeaks offers $20,000 reward for help finding Omaha native Seth Rich's killer |work=Omaha World-Herald |date=August 10, 2016 |access-date=February 11, 2018 |archive-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822023506/http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/wikileaks-offers-reward-for-help-finding-omaha-native-seth-rich/article_cfb287bc-5e98-11e6-ae0c-8b471b8cbfbb.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the Mueller Report, WikiLeaks had received an email containing an encrypted file named "wk dnc link I .txt.gpg" from the Guccifer 2.0 GRU persona on July 14, which was four days after Seth Rich died.<ref>''[https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf Mueller Report] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419072437/https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf |date=April 19, 2019}}'', vol. I, p. 46: On July 14, 2016, GRU officers used a Guccifer 2.0 email account to send WikiLeaks an email bearing the subject "big archive" and the message "a new attempt."163 The email contained an encrypted attachment with the name "wk dnc link I .txt.gpg."</ref><ref name="MuellerReport">{{cite web |last=Mueller |first=Robert S. |title=Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election |url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5955240/Full-Mueller-Report.pdf |access-date=19 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419142638/https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5955240/Full-Mueller-Report.pdf |archive-date=April 19, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Smeared">{{cite news |last=Poulsen |first=Kevin |title=Mueller Report: Assange Smeared Seth Rich to Cover for Russians |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/mueller-report-julian-assange-smeared-seth-rich-to-cover-for-russians |access-date=19 April 2019 |agency=The Daily Beast |date=18 April 2019 |archive-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419141652/https://www.thedailybeast.com/mueller-report-julian-assange-smeared-seth-rich-to-cover-for-russians |url-status=live}}</ref> 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 Guccifer 2.0, who was at the time already suspected of being linked to Russian intelligence.<ref name=":16" /> ''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."<ref name=":16">{{cite news |last=Collier |first=Kevin |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/kevincollier/assange-seth-rich-lies-guccifer-wikileaks-hannity |title=These Messages Show Julian Assange Talked About Seeking Hacked Files From Guccifer 2.0 |work=BuzzFeed News |date=April 5, 2018 |access-date=April 7, 2018 |archive-date=April 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407183359/https://www.buzzfeed.com/kevincollier/assange-seth-rich-lies-guccifer-wikileaks-hannity |url-status=live}}</ref> Mike Gottlieb, a lawyer for Rich's brother, noted that WikiLeaks received the file of stolen documents from the Russian hackers on July 14, four days after Rich was shot. Gottlieb described the chronology as "damning".<ref name="NYT Seth Rich">{{cite news |last=Mervosh |first=Sarah |title=Seth Rich Was Not Source of Leaked D.N.C. Emails, Mueller Report Confirms |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/us/mueller-report-seth-rich-assange.html |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |date=20 April 2019 |access-date=24 April 2019 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190420203507/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/us/mueller-report-seth-rich-assange.html |archive-date=April 20, 2019 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

====Propagation by right-wing media and venues====
The conspiracy theories were promoted by Mike Cernovich, [[Biography:Sean Hannity|Sean Hannity]], Geraldo Rivera, Kim Dotcom, Paul Joseph Watson, Newt Gingrich, Jack Posobiec, Tim Pool,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Collins |first1=Ben |last2=Alba |first2=Monica |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/conspiracy-theorists-far-right-agitators-head-white-house-social-media-n1028576 |title=Conspiracy theorists, far-right agitators head to White House with social media in their sights  |work=NBC |date=July 11, 2019 |access-date=August 24, 2021}}</ref> and others.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/donald-trumps-america/92735833/in-protrump-media-land-the-last-weeks-been-irrelevant-or-just-fake-news |title=In Pro-Trump media land, the last week's been irrelevant or just 'fake news' |website=Stuff |date=May 18, 2017 |access-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-date=October 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001164052/http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/donald-trumps-america/92735833/in-protrump-media-land-the-last-weeks-been-irrelevant-or-just-fake-news |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newsweek.com/seth-rich-dnc-staffer-wikileaks-leaked-emails-fbi-610383 |title=The FBI is not investigating DNC staffer Seth Rich's murder, despite WikiLeaks claim |date=May 17, 2017 |work=Newsweek |access-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525181611/http://www.newsweek.com/seth-rich-dnc-staffer-wikileaks-leaked-emails-fbi-610383 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/jack-posobiec-out-at-the-rebel |title=Pro-Trump Media Figure And Conspiracy Theory Peddler Jack Posobiec Is Out At The Rebel |publisher=BuzzFeed |date=May 29, 2017 |first=Jane |last=Lytvynenko |access-date=June 23, 2017 |archive-date=June 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610172033/https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/jack-posobiec-out-at-the-rebel |url-status=live}}</ref>

The same venues that fomented the false Pizzagate conspiracy theory helped to promulgate the Seth Rich murder conspiracy theories,<ref name="shalby">{{cite news |work={{wipe|Los Angeles Times}} |date=May 24, 2017 |title=How Seth Rich's death became an Internet conspiracy theory |url=http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-seth-rich-conspiracy-20170523-htmlstory.html |first=Colleen |last=Shalby |quote=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 |access-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-date=May 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529184553/http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-seth-rich-conspiracy-20170523-htmlstory.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="manjoo" /><ref name="edstetzer">{{citation |first=Ed |last=Stetzer |work=Christianity Today |url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2017/may/christians-repent-conspiracy-theory-fake-news.html |title=Christians, Repent (Yes, Repent) of Spreading Conspiracy Theories and Fake News—It's Bearing False Witness |date=May 31, 2017 |quote=And now I noticed that many of the same conservative Christians who shared about #pizzagate have been spreading the #SethRich conspiracy theory. |access-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-date=June 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170603032411/http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2017/may/christians-repent-conspiracy-theory-fake-news.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and each shared similar features.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/a-conspiratorial-tale-of-murder-with-fox-news-at-the-center/2017/05/17/6a4d1f5a-3b14-11e7-a058-ddbb23c75d82_story.html |title=A conspiratorial tale of murder, with Fox News at the center |last=Farhi |first=Paul |date=May 17, 2017 |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |access-date=May 18, 2017 |quote=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. |archive-date=May 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518001825/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/a-conspiratorial-tale-of-murder-with-fox-news-at-the-center/2017/05/17/6a4d1f5a-3b14-11e7-a058-ddbb23c75d82_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="scheck">{{citation |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/critics-notebook-sean-hannity-returns-talk-not-talking-044105050.html |last=Scheck |first=Frank |date=May 31, 2017 |title=Critic's Notebook: Sean Hannity Returns to Talk About Not Talking About the Seth Rich Conspiracy Theory |quote=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. |access-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-date=August 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802090315/https://www.yahoo.com/news/critics-notebook-sean-hannity-returns-talk-not-talking-044105050.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="boehlert">{{citation |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fox-vulgar-coverage-of-murdered-dnc-staffer-is-nothing_us_591f02f5e4b0e8f558bb25b6 |work=The Huffington Post |title=Fox's Vulgar Coverage Of A Murdered DNC Staffer Is Nothing New |date=May 19, 2017 |first=Eric |last=Boehlert |quote=Basically, it was the 'alt-right' idiocy of Pizzagate all over again. |access-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601152322/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fox-vulgar-coverage-of-murdered-dnc-staffer-is-nothing_us_591f02f5e4b0e8f558bb25b6 |url-status=live }}</ref> Both were promoted by individuals subscribing to far-right politics,<ref name="marwick">{{citation |url=http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/05/the-online-radicalization-were-not-talking-about.html |work=New York |quote=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. |title=The Online Radicalization We're Not Talking About |first=Alice |last=Marwick |date=May 18, 2017 |access-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-date=June 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170605001126/http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/05/the-online-radicalization-were-not-talking-about.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and by campaign officials and individuals appointed to senior-level national security roles by Donald Trump.<ref name="viebeck">{{citation |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/schooled-on-benghazi-and-pizzagate-trump-team-is-heavy-on-conspiracy-theorists/2016/12/21/53bdb6d6-c7b1-11e6-8bee-54e800ef2a63_story.html |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |title=Schooled on Benghazi and Pizzagate, Trump team is heavy on conspiracy theorists |first=Elise |last=Viebeck |date=December 22, 2016 |quote=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. |access-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-date=July 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731043123/https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/schooled-on-benghazi-and-pizzagate-trump-team-is-heavy-on-conspiracy-theorists/2016/12/21/53bdb6d6-c7b1-11e6-8bee-54e800ef2a63_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nonsensical">{{citation |first=Noah |last=Lanard |url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2017/05/17/fox-5-seth-rich-story-disintegrated-made-no-sense/ |title=Fox 5's Nonsensical Seth Rich Story Managed to Disintegrate in a Way That Made No Sense |work=Washingtonian |quote=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.' |date=May 17, 2017 |access-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-date=May 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517171201/https://www.washingtonian.com/2017/05/17/fox-5-seth-rich-story-disintegrated-made-no-sense/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="parton">{{citation |url=http://www.salon.com/2017/05/24/donald-trump-must-be-getting-desperate-does-he-really-think-thuggish-corey-lewandowski-can-save-him/ |work=Salon |quote=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. |title=Donald Trump must be getting desperate: Does he really think thuggish Corey Lewandowski can save him? |first=Heather Digby |last=Parton |date=May 24, 2017 |access-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-date=May 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529052358/http://www.salon.com/2017/05/24/donald-trump-must-be-getting-desperate-does-he-really-think-thuggish-corey-lewandowski-can-save-him/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name="manjoo">{{citation |quote=Bots flood the network, tweeting and retweeting thousands or hundreds of thousands of messages in support of the story, often accompanied by a branding hashtag — #pizzagate, or, a few weeks ago, #sethrich. |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |first=Farhad |last=Manjoo |title=How Twitter Is Being Gamed to Feed Misinformation |date=May 31, 2017 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/31/technology/how-twitter-is-being-gamed-to-feed-misinformation.html |access-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601134942/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/31/technology/how-twitter-is-being-gamed-to-feed-misinformation.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Both the Pizzagate conspiracy theory and the Seth Rich murder conspiracy theory were spread in the subreddit forum /r/The_Donald.<ref name="redditnews">{{cite news |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/reddit-news-donald-sub-set-private-maybe-done-good-update-its-back-2541584 |work=International Business Times |first=Steven |last=Asarch |title=Reddit News: The Donald Sub Set To Private, Maybe Done For Good [UPDATE: It's Back] |date=May 20, 2017 |quote=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. |access-date=May 29, 2017 |archive-date=May 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520201807/http://www.ibtimes.com/reddit-news-donald-sub-set-private-maybe-done-good-update-its-back-2541584 |url-status=live }}</ref> In both conspiracy theories, the promoters attempted to shift the [[Burden of proof (law)|burden of proof]] &mdash; asking others to attempt to disprove their claims, without citing substantiated evidence.<ref name="npr20170517">{{cite news |last=Kurtzleben |first=Danielle |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/05/17/528804792/unproved-claims-reemerge-around-dnc-staffer-s-death-here-s-what-you-should-know |title=Unproved Claims Re-Emerge Around DNC Staffer's Death: Here's What You Should Know |work=National Public Radio |date=May 17, 2017 |access-date=May 28, 2017 |quote=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. |archive-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526231348/http://www.npr.org/2017/05/17/528804792/unproved-claims-reemerge-around-dnc-staffer-s-death-here-s-what-you-should-know |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Slate''{{'}}s Elliot Hannon called the claims about Seth Rich a "PizzaGate-like conspiracy theory surrounding Rich's death",<ref name="hannon">{{citation |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/05/24/hannity_says_he_will_stop_but_not_really_pushing_the_seth_rich_conspiracy.html |work=Slate |title=Hannity Says He Will Stop—But Also Never Stop—Pushing the Seth Rich Conspiracy |last=Hannon |first=Elliot |date=May 24, 2017 |quote=the PizzaGate-like conspiracy theory surrounding Rich's death |access-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-date=June 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170603000614/http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/05/24/hannity_says_he_will_stop_but_not_really_pushing_the_seth_rich_conspiracy.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The Huffington Post'' described it as "the 'alt-right' idiocy of Pizzagate all over again",<ref name="boehlert" /> NPR's David Folkenflik said Fox News coverage of it "evokes the pizza-gate terrible allegations utterly unfounded",<ref name="cramer">{{citation |work=BuzzFeed News |last=Cramer |first=Meg |title=Can Fox News Survive Without Roger Ailes? |date=May 19, 2017 |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/megcramer/can-fox-news-survive-without-roger-ailes |quote=Yesterday there was this ludicrous story that I think Seth Rich was trying to imply that this poor DNC staffer who'd been killed had been like, set up by the Clintons. ... You know, it evokes the pizza-gate terrible allegations utterly unfounded and unfair |access-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601042337/https://www.buzzfeed.com/megcramer/can-fox-news-survive-without-roger-ailes |url-status=live }}</ref> and Margaret Sullivan wrote for ''{{wipe|The Washington Post}}'': "The Seth Rich lie has become the new Comet Ping Pong ... Crazy, baseless and dangerous."<ref name="sullivan">{{citation |quote=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. |first=Margaret |last=Sullivan |author-link=Margaret Sullivan (journalist) |url=http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/5322540-155/margaret-sullivan-the-seth-rich-lie |title=Margaret Sullivan: The Seth Rich lie, and how the corrosion of reality should worry every American |agency={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |work=The Salt Lake Tribune |date=May 23, 2017 |access-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-date=June 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170603032405/http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/5322540-155/margaret-sullivan-the-seth-rich-lie |url-status=live }}</ref>

On July 9, 2019, a [[Software:Yahoo! News|Yahoo! News]] article stated that an alleged Russian Foreign Intelligence Service bulletin dated July 13, 2016 was the original source of the conspiracy theory.<ref name="isikoff">{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-the-true-origins-of-the-seth-rich-conspiracy-a-yahoo-news-investigation-100000831.html |title=Exclusive: The true origins of the Seth Rich conspiracy theory. A Yahoo News investigation. |author=Michael Isikoff |date=July 9, 2019 |work=Yahoo! News |access-date=July 9, 2019 |archive-date=July 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709104230/https://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-the-true-origins-of-the-seth-rich-conspiracy-a-yahoo-news-investigation-100000831.html |url-status=live }}</ref> An analysis by the ''Washington Post'' disputed the conclusion while crediting the report for highlighting the roles played by ''[[Company:InfoWars|InfoWars]]'', Fox News, and Hannity in promoting the misinformation.<ref name="WaPo_7/9/19"/>

===Debunking===
Law enforcement stated that the conspiracy theories were unfounded,<ref name="eugenekiely" /><ref name="politifact" /> while fact-checking websites like PolitiFact.com,<ref name="politifact" /><ref name="politifactgillin">{{cite web |work=PolitiFact.com |first=Joshua |last=Gillin |url=http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/may/26/patriotcriercom/conspiracy-theory-comey-hid-seth-richs-ties-wikile/ |title=Conspiracy theory that Comey hid Seth Rich's ties to WikiLeaks based on retracted story |date=May 26, 2017 |access-date=May 27, 2017 |archive-date=June 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616231320/http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/may/26/patriotcriercom/conspiracy-theory-comey-hid-seth-richs-ties-wikile/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Philosophy:Snopes.com|Snopes.com]],<ref name=":4" /> and FactCheck.org<ref name="eugenekiely" /> came to the conclusion that the theories were false and baseless.

The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia described the murder as related to a bungled attempted robbery,<ref name="eugenekiely" /> and said "the assertions put forward by Mr. Wheeler are unfounded."<ref name="eugenekiely" />  Assistant Police Chief Peter Newsham said the police had no information suggesting a connection between Rich's death and data obtained by WikiLeaks,<ref name="Joseph" /> and MPD officers considered the murder to be the result of a botched robbery attempt.<ref name="politifactgillin" /> 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."<ref name=":4" />

People who worked with Rich said he didn't have access to the emails on the DNC server and 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, he did not have a programming background; 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.<ref name="washingtonpost_january_18_2017" /> 

Conspiracy theories falsely claimed that the FBI was investigating the case; in fact, the DC's MPD investigated the murder, and the FBI was not involved.<ref name="eugenekiely" /><ref name="politifactgillin" /><ref name=":4" />

Newt Gingrich promoted the conspiracy theory of a tie between Rich and Wikileaks, claiming that Rich "apparently was assassinated" subsequent to "having given WikiLeaks something like ... 53,000 [DNC] emails and 17,000 attachments".<ref name="eugenekiely" /> No evidence supported Gingrich's false and baseless claim,<ref name="eugenekiely" /><ref name="politifact" /><ref name=":4" /> and there was no evidence of any link between Rich and Wikileaks.<ref name="politifactgillin" />

The fabrications were described as fake news and falsehoods by ''{{wipe|The New York Times}}''.<ref name="fakenewsendures" /> ''The New York Times'' cited the conspiracy theories as an example of the persistence of false claims, concluding: "fake news dies hard".<ref name="fakenewsendures" /> The ''{{wipe|Los Angeles Times}}'' called the conspiracy theories "unsubstantiated rumors".<ref name="shalby" />

''{{wipe|The Washington Post}}'' cited the conspiracy theories as an example of the power of fake news to spread virally online.<ref name="fakenewsstillworks" /> 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.<ref name="fakenewsstillworks" /> ''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.<ref name="fakenewsstillworks" /> 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.<ref name="fakenewsstillworks" /> ''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.<ref name="fakenewsstillworks" />

=== Fox News retracted reporting ===
====Uncorroborated story====

On May 15, 2017, Fox 5 DC (WTTG) reported the uncorroborated and later largely retracted<ref name=":6" /> 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,<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Savransky |first=Rebecca |url=http://thehill.com/homenews/news/333555-family-of-slain-dnc-staffer-slams-report-he-had-contact-with-wikileaks |title=Slain DNC staffer's family quashes report he had contact with WikiLeaks |date=May 16, 2017 |work=The Hill |access-date=May 17, 2017 |archive-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170521025224/http://thehill.com/homenews/news/333555-family-of-slain-dnc-staffer-slams-report-he-had-contact-with-wikileaks |url-status=live }}</ref> claims that were never independently verified by Fox.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fox-news-conspiracy-theory-wikileaks-seth-rich_us_591b493ee4b07d5f6ba6d027 |title=Fox Pushes WikiLeaks Murder Conspiracy From Man Who Warned Of Armed Lesbian Pedophiles |last=Waldron |first=Travis |publisher=HuffPost |date=May 16, 2017 |access-date=May 16, 2017 |archive-date=May 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517054751/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fox-news-conspiracy-theory-wikileaks-seth-rich_us_591b493ee4b07d5f6ba6d027 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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;<ref name="Haaretz Sommer 2017-05-17">{{Cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-1.789915 |title=Explained: 'Alt-right' Using Cruel Seth Rich Conspiracy Theory to Deflect From Trump's Russia Scandal |last=Sommer |first=Allison Kaplan |date=May 17, 2017 |work=[[Social:Haaretz|Haaretz]] |access-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-date=May 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517173820/http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-1.789915 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="WaPoWagDog">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/05/16/conservative-media-coverage-of-trumps-classified-disclosure-will-make-your-head-spin/ |title=Conservative media coverage of Trump's classified disclosure will make your head spin |last=Borchers |first=Callum |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |date=May 16, 2017 |access-date=May 17, 2017 |archive-date=May 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522222747/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/05/16/conservative-media-coverage-of-trumps-classified-disclosure-will-make-your-head-spin/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Alvin Chang |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/18/15646098/right-wing-media-collective-memories |title=We tracked the Trump scandals on right-wing news sites. Here's how they covered it. |publisher=Vox |date=May 18, 2017 |access-date=May 18, 2017 |archive-date=May 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518184953/https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/18/15646098/right-wing-media-collective-memories |url-status=live}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newsweek.com/seth-rich-dnc-staffer-wikileaks-leaked-emails-fbi-610383 |title=The FBI is not investigating DNC staffer Seth Rich's murder, despite WikiLeaks claim |website=Newsweek |date=May 17, 2017 |access-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526130542/http://www.newsweek.com/seth-rich-dnc-staffer-wikileaks-leaked-emails-fbi-610383 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Zimmerman |first=Malia |title=Family of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich blasts detective over report of WikiLeaks link |url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/16/slain-dnc-staffer-had-contact-with-wikileaks-investigator-says.html |publisher=Fox News |access-date=August 5, 2017 |date=May 16, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516232112/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/16/slain-dnc-staffer-had-contact-with-wikileaks-investigator-says.html#&_intcmp=latestnews |archive-date=May 16, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Choi |first1=David |last2=Bondarenko |first2=Veronika |title=A 27-year-old DNC staffer was shot and killed in DC — and his mysterious death led to a lawsuit against Fox News |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-seth-rich-story-about-fox-news-lawsuit-rod-wheeler-dnc-wikileaks-emails-2017-8 |work=Business Insider |date=August 2, 2017 |access-date=August 7, 2017 |archive-date=August 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807193041/http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-seth-rich-story-about-fox-news-lawsuit-rod-wheeler-dnc-wikileaks-emails-2017-8 |url-status=live}}</ref> In reporting these claims, the Fox News report re-ignited conspiracy theories about the killing.<ref name=":7" /><ref name="NBCNews">{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/dnc-staffer-s-murder-draws-fresh-conspiracy-theories-n760186 |title=DNC staffer's murder draws fresh conspiracy theories |work=NBC News |access-date=May 16, 2017 |archive-date=May 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516173421/http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/dnc-staffer-s-murder-draws-fresh-conspiracy-theories-n760186 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":9">{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/fbi-involved-seth-rich-case-officials/story?id=47565705 |title=FBI is not involved in Seth Rich case despite 'conspiracy theories', officials say |date=May 22, 2017 |work=ABC News |access-date=May 22, 2017 |archive-date=May 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522205128/http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/fbi-involved-seth-rich-case-officials/story?id=47565705 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref name="npr20170517" /> ''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.<ref name="WaPoWagDog" />

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&nbsp;one appearance&nbsp;on Fox News in 2007 in which he warned that underground networks of pink pistol-toting lesbian gangs were raping young women".<ref name=":0" /><ref name="NBCNews" /><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/rod-wheeler |title=Meet The Private Detective Who Ignited A Clinton Conspiracy Theory |publisher=BuzzFeed |access-date=May 17, 2017 |archive-date=May 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517051356/https://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/rod-wheeler |url-status=live }}</ref> ''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".<ref name=":7" /> When Wheeler appeared on [[Biography:Sean Hannity|Sean Hannity]]'s Fox News shows, these multiple roles were not disclosed to viewers.<ref name=":7" /> 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.<ref name=":0" />

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.<ref name="NBCNews" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/family-of-slain-seth-rich-says-reports-he-fed-wikileaks-dnc-info-are-untrue/2017/05/16/9b32ef9c-3a46-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html |title=Family of slain Seth Rich says reports that he fed DNC info to WikiLeaks are untrue |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |access-date=May 16, 2017 |archive-date=May 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516181342/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/family-of-slain-seth-rich-says-reports-he-fed-wikileaks-dnc-info-are-untrue/2017/05/16/9b32ef9c-3a46-11e7-8854-21f359183e8c_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref name="NBCNews" /> 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."<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |url=http://www.snopes.com/seth-rich-dnc-wikileaks-murder/ |title=Fact Check: Did DNC Staffer Seth Rich Send 'Thousands of E-Mails' to WikiLeaks Before He Was Murdered? |work=[[Philosophy:Snopes.com|Snopes.com]] |date=May 16, 2017 |access-date=May 16, 2017 |first=Bethania |last=Palma |quote=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. |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125112757/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/seth-rich-dnc-wikileaks-murder/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Later that day, Wheeler told CNN he had no evidence that Rich had contacted Wikileaks.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/16/media/seth-rich-family-response-claims-of-wikileaks-contact/index.html |title=Story on DNC staffer's murder dominated conservative media – hours later it fell apart |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=May 16, 2017 |publisher=CNNMoney |access-date=May 17, 2017 |archive-date=May 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517013527/http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/16/media/seth-rich-family-response-claims-of-wikileaks-contact/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Wheeler claimed that Fox had presented his quotes misleadingly and that he only learned about the possible existence&nbsp;of the evidence from a Fox News reporter.<ref name="npr20170517" /><ref name=":6" /> Despite this, Sean Hannity's show and ''Fox & Friends'' continued to promote the conspiracy theory for the remainder of the week.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/05/22/the-seth-rich-conspiracys-biggest-myths-explained/ |title=The Seth Rich conspiracy's biggest myths, explained |publisher={{wipe|The Washington Post}} The Fix blog |access-date=May 23, 2017 |archive-date=May 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523013951/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/05/22/the-seth-rich-conspiracys-biggest-myths-explained/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":8" /> On May 18, 2016, Hannity's guest on the show was Jay Sekulow who said that Rich's killing "... undercuts this whole Russia argument;" neither one mentioned that Sekulow had just been hired as one of Trump's lead lawyers in the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.<ref name="isikoff"/> Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Geraldo Rivera took part in spreading the conspiracy.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/19/media/russian-embassy-seth-rich-inaccurate-fox-news-story/index.html |title=Russian embassy promotes conspiracy theory on DNC staffer's death after false Fox News story |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=May 19, 2017 |publisher=CNNMoney |access-date=May 19, 2017 |archive-date=May 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519220045/http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/19/media/russian-embassy-seth-rich-inaccurate-fox-news-story/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/22/media/fox-news-staffers-seth-rich-dnc-sean-hannity/index.html |title=Fox News staffers 'disgusted' at network's promotion of Seth Rich conspiracy theory |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=May 22, 2017 |publisher=CNNMoney |access-date=May 23, 2017 |archive-date=May 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523035221/http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/22/media/fox-news-staffers-seth-rich-dnc-sean-hannity/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/05/23/media/seth-rich-family-letter-hannity-fox-news/index.html |title=Seth Rich's brother pleads with Hannity to stop spreading conspiracy theory |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=May 23, 2017 |publisher=CNNMoney |access-date=May 23, 2017 |archive-date=May 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523171159/http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/23/media/seth-rich-family-letter-hannity-fox-news/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name="seanhannitydone">{{citation |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/05/23/fox-news-retracts-controversial-story-on-seth-richs-death-and-alleged-wikileaks-contact |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |title=Sean Hannity done talking about Seth Rich and WikiLeaks 'for now' as Fox News retracts story |first=Kristine |last=Philips |date=May 24, 2017 |access-date=May 30, 2017 |archive-date=May 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170528193419/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/05/23/fox-news-retracts-controversial-story-on-seth-richs-death-and-alleged-wikileaks-contact/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":11">{{Cite news |url=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 |title=The life and death of the Seth Rich conspiracy theory |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |access-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524181556/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 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref>{{citation |first=Julie |last=Roginsky |work=Fox News |title=Julie Roginsky claps back at Seth Rich conspiracy theorists |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5jJr6CoLns |date=May 22, 2017 |access-date=May 28, 2017 |archive-date=May 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529034457/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5jJr6CoLns |url-status=live }}</ref> Fox News was also criticized by conservative outlets, such as the ''Weekly Standard'',<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/prime-time-conspiracy-theory/article/2008229#.WSmJI4heE7o.twitter |title=Prime-Time Conspiracy Theory |date=May 26, 2017 |work=Weekly Standard |access-date=May 27, 2017 |archive-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526083000/http://www.weeklystandard.com/prime-time-conspiracy-theory/article/2008229#.WSmJI4heE7o.twitter |url-status=live}}</ref> ''National Review'',<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/morning-jolt/447911/seth-rich-murder-conspiracy-katy-perry-manchester-attack-comments |title=The Facts of the Seth Rich Murder That Don't Support Conspiracy Theories |work=National Review |access-date=May 27, 2017 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125112732/https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/seth-rich-murder-conspiracy-katy-perry-manchester-attack-comments/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/447903/sean-hannity-seth-rich-conspiracy-theory-disgrace |title=The Seth Rich Conspiracy Theory Is Shameful Nonsense |work=National Review |access-date=May 27, 2017 |archive-date=May 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170528094135/http://www.nationalreview.com/article/447903/sean-hannity-seth-rich-conspiracy-theory-disgrace |url-status=live}}</ref> and conservative columnists, such as Jennifer Rubin,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/05/24/questions-fox-and-the-right-need-to-answer/ |title=Questions Fox and the right need to answer |last=Rubin |first=Jennifer |date=May 24, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 27, 2017 |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526195031/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/05/24/questions-fox-and-the-right-need-to-answer/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Michael Gerson,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-conservative-mind-has-become-diseased/2017/05/25/523f0964-4159-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html?tid=ss_tw-bottom |title=The conservative mind has become diseased |last=Gerson |first=Michael |date=May 25, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 29, 2017 |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=August 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805104819/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-conservative-mind-has-become-diseased/2017/05/25/523f0964-4159-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html?tid=ss_tw-bottom |url-status=live}}</ref> and John Podhoretz.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.commentarymagazine.com/politics-ideas/the-shame-of-defaming-seth-rich/ |title=The Shameless Conspiracy Theorizing Involving Seth Rich Must Stop |date=May 23, 2017 |work=Commentary Magazine |access-date=May 28, 2017 |language=en-US |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525021948/https://www.commentarymagazine.com/politics-ideas/the-shame-of-defaming-seth-rich/ |url-status=live}}</ref> 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."<ref name=":1" />

By November 2020, Malia Zimmermann, the reporter behind the retracted Fox News story, was no longer working at Fox.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Folkenflik |first1=David |title=Fox News Settles With Seth Rich's Parents For False Story Claiming Clinton Leaks |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/11/24/938545344/fox-news-settles-with-seth-richs-parents-for-false-story-claiming-clinton-leaks |access-date=18 October 2021 |agency=NPR |date=November 24, 2020}}</ref>

====Cease and desist letter and retraction====
On May 19, 2017, an attorney for the Rich family sent a [[Social:Cease and desist|cease and desist]] letter to Wheeler.<ref name="Cease">{{cite news |last=Seitz-Wald |first=Alex |date=May 19, 2017 |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/slain-dnc-staffer-s-family-orders-blabbing-detective-cease-desist-n762211 |title=Slain DNC Staffer's Family Orders Blabbing Detective to 'Cease and Desist |work=NBC News |access-date=May 22, 2017 |archive-date=May 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522104952/http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/slain-dnc-staffer-s-family-orders-blabbing-detective-cease-desist-n762211 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref name="FoxRetraction" /><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40021373 |title=Fox retracts Seth Rich murder conspiracy |date=May 23, 2017 |work=BBC News |access-date=May 23, 2017 |archive-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524080403/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40021373 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/05/24/529809256/fox-news-retracts-dnc-staffer-conspiracy-story-but-hannity-keeps-it-alive |title=Fox News Retracts DNC Staffer Conspiracy Story, But Hannity Keeps It Alive |publisher=NPR |access-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524160109/http://www.npr.org/2017/05/24/529809256/fox-news-retracts-dnc-staffer-conspiracy-story-but-hannity-keeps-it-alive |url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name="NYT Fox retraction">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/business/media/fox-news-seth-rich.html |title=Fox News Retracts Seth Rich Story That Stirred Controversy |last=Victor |first=Daniel |date=May 23, 2017 |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |access-date=May 23, 2017 |archive-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524004219/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/business/media/fox-news-seth-rich.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref name="NYT Fox retraction"/> Media ethics writer [[Biography:Kelly McBride|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.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news |url=http://www.poynter.org/2017/fox-news-retraction-is-a-woefully-inadequate-response-to-its-colossal-mistake/461002/ |title=Fox News's retraction is a woefully inadequate response to its colossal mistake |date=May 23, 2017 |publisher=Poynter Institute |access-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-date=May 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524002422/http://www.poynter.org/2017/fox-news-retraction-is-a-woefully-inadequate-response-to-its-colossal-mistake/461002/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The same day, Hannity stated on his show that he would cease discussing the issue.<ref name="varietysteinberg">{{cite magazine |last=Steinberg |first=Brian |magazine=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/sean-hannity-seth-rich-fox-news-2-1202442552/ |title=Sean Hannity Says He Will 'Cease' Discussing Seth Rich Case |date=May 23, 2017 |access-date=December 14, 2017 |archive-date=December 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220154845/http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/sean-hannity-seth-rich-fox-news-2-1202442552/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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."<ref name="varietysteinberg" /> 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."<ref name="varietysteinberg" /> Several advertisers including Crowne Plaza Hotels, [[Company:Cars.com|Cars.com]], Leesa Mattress, USAA, Peloton and [[Company:Casper Sleep|Casper Sleep]] pulled their marketing from his program on Fox News.<ref name="paulbond">{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Bond |date=May 25, 2017 |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/more-advertisers-pressuring-fox-news-sean-hannity-1007805 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |title=Several advertisers have pulled TV spots over the 'Hannity' host's reporting on Seth Rich, while conservatives are mounting a counter-boycott. |access-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-date=June 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613183900/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/more-advertisers-pressuring-fox-news-sean-hannity-1007805 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Derek |last=Hawkins |work=San Francisco Chronicle |agency={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Sean-Hannity-loses-advertisers-amid-uproar-over-11172410.php |date=May 25, 2017 |title=Sean Hannity loses advertisers amid uproar over slain DNC staffer conspiracy theories |access-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525233134/http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Sean-Hannity-loses-advertisers-amid-uproar-over-11172410.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/sean-hannity-loses-some-advertisers-after-advancing-conspiracy-theory-1495757644 |title=Sean Hannity Loses Some Advertisers After Advancing Conspiracy Theory |last=Flint |first=Joe |date=May 26, 2017 |work=Wall Street Journal |access-date=May 26, 2017 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526014145/https://www.wsj.com/articles/sean-hannity-loses-some-advertisers-after-advancing-conspiracy-theory-1495757644 |url-status=live }}</ref> Crowne Plaza Hotels later said that it was not their policy to advertise on political commentary shows and that they had not been aware of their sponsorship of the show.<ref>{{cite news |first=Adam |last=Gabbatt |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/26/sean-hannity-advertiser-boycott-fox-news-seth-rich |work={{wipe|The Guardian}} |date=May 26, 2017 |title=Sean Hannity hit by advertiser exodus in wake of bogus Seth Rich story |access-date=May 27, 2017 |archive-date=May 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527033950/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/26/sean-hannity-advertiser-boycott-fox-news-seth-rich |url-status=live }}</ref> USAA soon returned to advertising on Fox News after receiving customer input.<ref>{{cite web |last=Morona |first=Joey |url=http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/05/sean_hannity_still_talking_abo.html |title=Sean Hannity, still talking about Seth Rich, gets an advertiser back |work=cleveland.com |date=May 31, 2017 |access-date=May 31, 2017 |archive-date=June 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601064515/http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/05/sean_hannity_still_talking_abo.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===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 were named as defendants, stating that quotes attributed to him in the original Fox News piece were fabricated. The lawsuit also alleged that the fabricated quotes were included in the Fox News story at the urging of the Trump White House.<ref name="auto">{{cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |date=August 1, 2017 |title=A timeline of the explosive lawsuit alleging a White House link in the Seth Rich conspiracy |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/08/01/a-timeline-of-the-explosive-lawsuit-alleging-a-white-house-link-in-the-seth-rich-conspiracy/ |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |access-date=August 1, 2017 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125112719/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/08/01/a-timeline-of-the-explosive-lawsuit-alleging-a-white-house-link-in-the-seth-rich-conspiracy/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="npr">{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/08/01/540783715/lawsuit-alleges-fox-news-and-trump-supporter-created-fake-news-story |title=Behind Fox News' Baseless Seth Rich Story: The Untold Tale |publisher=NPR |date=August 1, 2017 |access-date=April 5, 2018 |archive-date=August 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803002740/http://www.npr.org/2017/08/01/540783715/lawsuit-alleges-fox-news-and-trump-supporter-created-fake-news-story |url-status=live }}</ref>

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."<ref name="npr" />
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.<ref name="auto" />

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."<ref name="npr" />

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.<ref name="auto" />

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."<ref name="npr" />

The lawsuit was dismissed in August 2018, alongside Rich's family lawsuit against Fox, with the presiding judge ruling that there was no evidence that Fox has manipulated claims he had made on recordings, while other statements that Wheeler claimed were defamatory were considered opinion.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.npr.org/2018/08/03/635272922/judge-dismisses-suits-against-fox-news-over-seth-rich-story | title = Judge Dismisses Suits Against Fox News Over Seth Rich Story | first = David | last=  Folkenflik | date = August 3, 2018 | access-date = February 8, 2021 | work  = NPR }}</ref>  However, information learned from the discovery phase of the lawsuit on how Fox News was handling the story were subsequently used by Rich's family in its lawsuit against the network after they successfully appealed the dismissal.<ref name="npr fox settles seth rich family 2020">{{cite web | url = https://www.npr.org/2020/11/24/938545344/fox-news-settles-with-seth-richs-parents-for-false-story-claiming-clinton-leaks | title = Fox News Settles With Seth Rich's Parents For False Story Claiming Clinton Leaks | first = David | last=  Folkenflik | date = November 24, 2020 | access-date = February 8, 2021 | work  = NPR }}</ref>

==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."<ref name=":0" /> The family spokesperson said "At this point, only people with transparent political agendas or sociopaths are still perpetuating Seth Rich conspiracies."<ref name="Wash Post Weigel 2017-05-21 Gingrich">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/05/21/gingrich-spreads-conspiracy-theory-about-slain-dnc-staffer/ |title=Gingrich spreads conspiracy theory about slain DNC staffer |date=May 21, 2017 |access-date=May 21, 2017 |publisher={{wipe|The Washington Post}} PowerPost blog |author=David Weigel |archive-date=May 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170521155708/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/05/21/gingrich-spreads-conspiracy-theory-about-slain-dnc-staffer/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

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

{{Blockquote|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.<ref name="washpostparents" />}}

In March 2018, Aaron Rich sued Butowsky, Couch, America First Media, and ''The Washington Times'' for suggesting he had played a role in the purported theft of emails from the DNC.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/27/media/seth-rich-brother-sues-washington-times/index.html?iid=EL |title=Seth Rich's brother sues right-wing activists, Washington Times over conspiracy theories |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |work=CNNMoney |access-date=October 1, 2018 |archive-date=October 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001220503/https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/27/media/seth-rich-brother-sues-washington-times/index.html?iid=EL |url-status=live }}</ref> On October 1, 2018, as part of a settlement they had reached with Aaron Rich, ''The Washington Times'' retracted the relevant articles and apologized to Rich and his family.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/10/01/media/washington-times-aaron-rich/index.html |title=The Washington Times settles lawsuit with Seth Rich's brother, issues retraction and apology for its coverage |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |work=CNNMoney |access-date=October 1, 2018 |archive-date=February 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221115632/https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/01/media/washington-times-aaron-rich/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Lawsuit against Fox News===

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.<ref>{{cite news |last=Del Moro |first=Michael |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/family-slain-dnc-staffer-sues-fox-news-retracted/story?id=53725795 |title=Family of slain DNC staffer sues Fox News over retracted story |date=March 13, 2018 |work=ABC News |access-date=March 14, 2018 |archive-date=March 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314014751/http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/family-slain-dnc-staffer-sues-fox-news-retracted/story?id=53725795 |url-status=live }}</ref> Judge George B. Daniels dismissed the lawsuit in August 2018 alongside the case against Fox News from Wheeler. Judge Daniels ruled that, although it was reasonable for plaintiffs to believe their son's death was being used for political purposes, the plaintiffs failed to allege "intentional infliction" of emotional distress on the part of defendants, as that standard is determined under New York state law: "defamatory statements to news outlets 'fall well short of meeting the high standards for extreme and outrageous conduct.' They would have had to prove more extreme and persistent distress under the law."<ref name="lawsuits dismissed">{{cite news |last=Segers |first=Grace |title=Seth Rich case against Fox News dismissed by federal judge |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/seth-rich-case-dismissed-by-federal-judge/ |publisher=CBS |date=August 2, 2018 |access-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-date=August 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802222744/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/seth-rich-case-dismissed-by-federal-judge/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned the dismissal in September 2019 saying, "the Riches plausibly alleged what amounted to a campaign of emotional torture."<ref name=Gerstein>{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/13/fox-news-seth-rich-1494617|title=Court reinstates suit against Fox News over Seth Rich murder saga |last=Gerstein |first=Josh |date=September 13, 2019 |work=Politico |access-date=2019-09-14}}</ref> In subsequent proceedings, the Rich family used information from the failed Wheeler lawsuit to support further allegations towards Fox News. Among that information included the level of involvement that Butowsky had in preparing and coaching the Fox News hosts in the days before they broke their version of the Seth Rich story, his hiring of Wheeler, and his meeting with Spicer.<ref name="npr fox settles seth rich family 2020"/> On October 12, 2020, Fox News reached a settlement with the Rich family.<ref name=SmithJan182021>{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Ben|date=2021-01-18|title=Fox Settled a Lawsuit Over Its Lies. But It Insisted on One Unusual Condition|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/business/media/fox-news-seth-rich-settlement.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210118152753/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/business/media/fox-news-seth-rich-settlement.html|archive-date=January 18, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=January 18, 2021}}</ref> The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but were reported to be in the seven figures.<ref>{{cite news |last=Isikoff |first=Michael |url=https://news.yahoo.com/fox-paid-seven-figures-to-settle-lawsuit-over-bogus-seth-rich-conspiracy-story-003236858.html |title=Fox paid seven figures to settle lawsuit over bogus Seth Rich conspiracy story |date=November 25, 2020 |access-date=December 14, 2020 |website=news.yahoo.com |archive-date=December 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213162844/https://news.yahoo.com/fox-paid-seven-figures-to-settle-lawsuit-over-bogus-seth-rich-conspiracy-story-003236858.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Isadi |first1=Elahe |last2=Farhi |first2=Paul |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2020/11/24/fox-news-seth-rich-settlement/ |title=Fox News reaches settlement with parents of slain DNC staffer Seth Rich |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |date=November 24, 2020 |access-date=December 14, 2020 |archive-date=December 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213204634/https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2020/11/24/fox-news-seth-rich-settlement/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The settlement also dismissed the actions against Zimmerman and Butowsky, which eliminated the need for Fox News hosts like Hannity and Dobbs to give testimony.<ref name="npr fox settles seth rich family 2020"/> The settlement contained the provision that it had to be kept secret for a month.<ref name=SmithJan182021/>

==Documentary==
In April 2018, the BBC broadcast the documentary ''Conspiracy Files: Murder in Washington'' examining the death of Rich and subsequent theories about the death.<ref>{{cite web |title=Conspiracy Files: Murder in Washington |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09yj7rm |publisher=BBC Two |access-date=April 25, 2019 |archive-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405064447/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09yj7rm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 2022, an episode of the Netflix documentary series ''Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet'' examined the murder of Seth Rich, the unfounded conspiracy theories and his family.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet |url=https://www.netflix.com/za/title/81122462?preventIntent=true |publisher=Netflix |access-date=June 15, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Seth Rich's killing was exploited on Fox News and online. His parents are fed up |website=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/15/1104511732/fox-news-seth-rich-murder |access-date=June 15, 2022 }}</ref>

==See also==
*Crime in the District of Columbia
*Fake news in the United States
*[[Philosophy:Fringe theory|Fringe theory]]
*[[Philosophy:Furtive fallacy|Furtive fallacy]]
*[[Unsolved:List of conspiracy theories|List of conspiracy theories]]
*List of unsolved deaths

==References==
{{Reflist|26em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite news |url=http://www.jewishomaha.org/jewish-press/2016/seth-conrad-rich/ |title=In Memoriam: Seth Conrad Rich |work=The Jewish Press <!-- wikilink would link to unrelated Brooklyn paper --> |location=Omaha |date=July 22, 2016 |author=Abraham, Rabbi Steven}} Eulogy given by Rabbi Steven Abraham of Beth El Synagogue at the service on July 13, 2016.
* {{cite news |author=Harris, Chris |url=http://www.people.com/article/friends-remember-dnc-staffer-seth-rich |title=Friends of Slain DNC Staffer Seth Rich Remember Him as 'Honest' and 'Self-Sacrificing' |work=People |date=July 13, 2016}}

==External links==
*{{Find a Grave|166909163|Seth Conrad Rich}}—Beth El Cemetery, Ralston, Nebraska
*[http://www.snopes.com/2017/05/25/seth-rich-conspiracy-theory/ "The Seth Rich Conspiracy Theory"], [[Philosophy:Snopes.com|Snopes.com]]
*[https://www.mediaite.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Wheeler-Filed-Complaint.pdf ''Wheeler v. Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. et al.'']


{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Seth, Murder Of}}
[[Category:Death conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Denialism]]
[[Category:Internet manipulation and propaganda]]
[[Category:Pseudohistory]]

{{Sourceattribution|Murder of Seth Rich}}