FBI had been stonewalling on Seth Rich info for years, initially claiming they didn’t possess any files on the DNC staffer — they were later found to have 20,000 pages of documents mentioning Seth Rich.
A federal judge has ordered the FBI to disclose to the court information about suspected DNC leaker Seth Rich’s mysterious murder.
Texas Judge Amos Mazzant on Tuesday ruled the FBI must hand over Rich’s personal laptop, work laptop, a DVD, and thumb drive within 14 days.
“A timeline for the disclosure of information on Seth Rich’s personal laptop, Seth Rich’s work laptop, the DVD and tape drive within 14 days following the issuance of this Memorandum of Opinion and Order.”
Breaking: FBI ordered to turn over evidence regarding former DNC employee Seth Rich who was allegedly linked to leaking disparaging DNC emails to WikiLeaks prior to his untimely and controversial demise. pic.twitter.com/JGhsjlCtzJ
— Te?asLindsay™ (@TexasLindsay_) November 29, 2023
Rich, a Democratic National Committee staffer at the time, was killed during an alleged “botched” robbery attempt in Washington, D.C. in July 2016, according to the official narrative.
His murderer has never been found.
Rich’s death came soon after DNC emails were released by WikiLeaks to the public, leading some to speculate that he was their source of the leaks.
The leaked internal emails revealed the DNC rigged the 2016 Democratic National Convention’s nomination process in favor of Hillary Clinton, resulting in the abrupt resignation of then-DNC chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.
However, the FBI had insisted that the DNC emails were hacked by the Russian government, which kicked off numerous intelligence investigations into Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, including by the FBI, House Intelligence Committee, and FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who all concluded Trump did not “collude” with Russia to win the 2016 election.
Evidence from the CIA indicates Hillary Clinton actually approved the Russia hoax to distract from her email crimes by “stirring up a scandal claiming interference by Russian security services.”
The ruling is the latest development in a long-running freedom of information battle between the FBI and attorney Ty Clevenger, who is representing Texas plaintiff Brian Huddleston.
Clevenger claimed in Feb. 2020 that the FBI had been lying about Rich’s murder, including giving false testimony in court, by insisting they did not possess any documents mentioning Seth Rich.
“The FBI claimed it had no records mentioning Seth Rich, and these have come to light in response to a different FOIA request that was not about him. What other falsely denied documents does the FBI hold about Rich, that were not fortuitously picked up by a search for correspondence between two named individuals?” he asked.
Nearly a year later, an FBI attorney admitted the agency found over 20,000 pages worth of internal documents in which Seth Rich is mentioned.
Clevenger soon after published a deposition by Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist Sy Hersh claiming a “trusted source” told him the FBI “examined Seth Rich’s computer, finding emails from Rich to WikiLeaks and requesting payment in exchange.”
The bureau in April 2021 confirmed that deposition, producing 68 pages relating to Rich’s murder which included an investigative summary suggesting someone could have paid for his death.
FBI also asked the court to allow it to withhold information from Seth Rich’s laptop for 66 years, which was denied by Judge Mazzant in Sept. 2022.
Read the judge’s order:
