The parents of murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, who seem to be doing everything in their power to stop anyone from solving their son’s case, are now suing Fox News.
Joel and Mary Rich are suing the conservative news network, along with reporter Malia Zimmerman and Texas businessman Ed Butowsky, for their roles in the publication of a “baseless conspiracy theory” about Rich’s death. They’re seeking compensation for “mental anguish and emotional distress, emotional pain and suffering, and any other physical and mental injuries.”
The couple issued a statement about the lawsuit Tuesday night. “No parent should ever have to live through what we have been forced to endure. The pain and anguish that comes from seeing your murdered son’s life and legacy treated as a mere political football is beyond comprehension.”
They just love that “political football” buzzword, don’t they?
The Rich family lawsuit begins, “Joel and Mary Rich, grieving parents of a murdered child, seek justice for having become collateral damage in a political war to which they were innocent bystanders.”
And then it gets worse for the network. https://t.co/1AXWHiETBc
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) March 14, 2018
As for the “baseless conspiracy theory” over which they’re suing, you all know it by now. Last year, Zimmerman reported that Rod Wheeler, a private investigator and Fox News contributor hired by Butowski to look into Rich’s death, had learned that Wikileaks had been in contact with Rich prior to his death. The report suggested that Rich had been Wikileaks’s source for the leaked DNC emails, and was murdered for it.
In their lawsuit, the Riches contend that Zimmerman and Butowski colluded to fabricate the report. Never mind that Wikileaks has never denied Rich as their source, or that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh claims to have found FBI evidence that proves Rich was in contact with Wikileaks.
Wheeler is also suing Fox News over the report. However, in July 2017 he revealed that a “high ranking official at the DNC” was blocking D.C. police from giving him information about Rich’s case.
Do the Riches really not think that suspicious?
It’s terrible that their son was murdered, and no one can blame grieving parents for wanting to stay out of the spotlight. But so many things about Rich’s death just don’t add up, and Rich’s parents are all but stonewalling everyone from getting to the bottom of his murder.
Share this if you think there’s more truth to the “baseless conspiracy theory” about Seth Rich’s death than his parents believe!
