A former California Republican congressman called for an “honest investigation” into the death of Democratic National Committee aide Seth Rich in 2016.
Dana Rohrabacher, who lost his reelection bid to Democrat Harley Rouda in 2018, wrote on his website, “We are all holding our breath waiting for an honest investigation into the murder of Seth Rich.”
Rich was shot twice in the back on July 10, 2016, while walking home from Lou’s City Bar in D.C. He was on the phone with his girlfriend when he was attacked by two people.
Police have described the death as a botched robbery, believing Rich tried to fight off the assailants, who did not take his wallet or other valuables.
Conspiracy theorists pounced on Rich’s death, claiming he had been murdered to protect Democratic Party secrets and claiming he possessed stolen emails from the DNC and then-candidate Hillary Clinton.
Rich was back in the news Wednesday after lawyers for Julian Assange told a London court that the WikiLeaks founder was offered a presidential pardon if he lied about Russia being the source of the DNC email leaks. The White House shot back at Assange, claiming his accusations were a “total fabrication.” Rohrabacher rebutted claims he brokered a pardon deal for Assange on his website.
Rich’s parents sued Fox News surrounding coverage of conspiracy theories about the death of their 27-year-old son, and further investigations into the spread of rumors surrounding Rich pointed to the Internet Research Agency, a Russian troll factory that aggressively circulated misleading information.
