The big chill: 125 Congress members silent on Seth Rich murder

WASHINGTON — WND has asked 125 members of Congress to weigh in on the unsolved murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich, and not a single representative has agreed to address the case.

Only five members replied to WND's request for an interview. All five declined.

The only member of Congress who has gone on the record about the slain DNC staffer is Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, who has been attacked for speaking out.

Rich, 27, was murdered in Washington, D.C., on July 10, 2016, near his apartment in an affluent neighborhood. He was shot twice in the back, and his wallet, credit cards, watch and phone were left in his possession. The Metropolitan Police Department has described it as a "botched robbery."

Private investigators, however, have claimed there is evidence Rich was the source WikiLeaks used to obtain thousands of Democratic National Committee emails released on the eve of the party's presidential nominating convention last July. The emails, indicating the party was manipulating the primary race in favor of Hillary Clinton, led to the resignation of DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

In an appearance on CNN, Farenthold called for a federal investigation of the murder and said the DNC email leak may have been an “inside job.”

“My fear is our constant focusing on the Russians is deflecting away from some other things that we need to be investigating," he said. "There’s still some question as to whether the intrusion of the DNC server was an insider job or whether or not it was the Russians.”

In an interview with the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Farenthold doubled down on his call for a special investigation, demanding Rich’s murder be approached with the same aggression as the review of purported Russian interference during the 2016 election.

“[The Rich murder] should be part of the ongoing investigation into alleged Russian interference in the election, because that’s an alternative theory that deserves being looked at,” the congressman said.

The theory that Rich was killed for leaking DNC information, Farenthold insisted, is “as credible as the anonymous sources being cited in the (former FBI Director James) Comey and Russian stories against President Trump.”

Murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich (Photo: GoFundMe)

'Conspiracy theorists'

Rich’s story has been largely ignored by establishment media. Those who have called attention to the suspicious circumstances surrounding the murder have been branded “conspiracy theorists,” including Fox News host Sean Hannity.

Hannity has claimed there is evidence Rich was murdered over his alleged ties to WikiLeaks. He’s argued on Twitter that the story could derail the allegations pushed by Democrats of collusion between Russian officials and the Trump campaign.

Congress, investigate Seth Rich Murder! @JulianAssange made comments u need to listen to! If Seth was wiki source, no Trump/Russia collusion https://t.co/QPHZwypU34

— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 22, 2017

At least five advertising firms have pulled their commercials from Hannity's Fox News show in response to its coverage of Rich.

Private investigation

The head of a private investigative team in Washington, D.C., trying to solve Rich’s murder insists that Metropolitan Police Department officials have been instructed by Mayor Muriel Bowser to withhold evidence pertaining to Rich’s case from the public and obstruct the investigation for political purposes.

“The police have shut down all full operations,” Burkman told WND. “The police are not cooperating with us or anyone, which is sad. This has become a very systematic and deliberate effort by the D.C. police and the mayor to end the Seth Rich investigation.”

In a statement to WND, the MPD disputed Burkman’s allegations, declaring the department will not “entertain conspiracy theories and does not engage with conspiracy theorists.”

“If you are in possession of information that you believe to be relevant to this or any case, please let us know the details of such information such that it can help, rather than hinder, our investigation,” said MPD’s Karimah Bilal.

Burkman, who is offering a $105,000 reward for anyone with information about Rich’s murderer or murderers, revealed Tuesday that a burglar broke into an FBI vehicle and stole weapons – including a .40 caliber Glock-22 handgun and a Rock River Arms Rifle – hours before Rich was shot multiple times just two miles north of the weapons theft.

Burkman filed a lawsuit Tuesday suing the MPD for ballistics reports that would indicate whether the two crimes are in any way connected.