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Questions Linger About Seth Rich Murder Details



By William Craddick
June 7, 2017

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The murder of Seth Rich has brought a fresh round of condemnation from establishment figures of so called “fake news.” Mainstream press outlets have claimed without justification that there is no evidence to suspect political involvement in Rich’s death despite strong indications from multiple sources, including Wikileaks, that this may have in fact been the case. Extreme censorship in the media of the story fails to account for a botched and corruption tinted investigation by the D.C. Police Department. Additionally, close connections between the DNC, White House and individuals at the center of the incident do nothing but continue give rise to accusations of a cover up.

I. Concerted Efforts To Censor Reporting On Seth Rich’s Murder

On May 15th, FOX 5 DC carried claims from private investigator Rod Wheeler that Rich was in contact with Wikileaks prior to his death. American media figures and political groups have subsequently engaged in an unprecedented frenzy of attacks against media outlets who even mention the story. Fox News anchor Sean Hannity faced a frenzy of attacks on his sponsors, which were spearheaded by one time Republican operative turned Democrat David Brock’s Media Matters. Disobedient Media has previously reported that another one of Brock’s organizations, Shareblue, is partially owned by the government of China; who concealed their purchase of shares in the group using a phony mining contract. Brock’s ties to foreign interests may mean that he is in violation of the Foreign Agent Registration Act, 22 U.S.C. § 614.

Alternative media sources reporting on the story have also faced pushback and censorship for their coverage of Seth Rich. On May 24th, 2017, World Net Daily reported that they were slapped with a 12 hour ban by Twitter after running a story that revealed Democrat National Committee (DNC) official Donna Brazile had warned off a private eye looking in to Seth Rich’s murder. San Diego based One American News also had its website taken offline after an employee from the outlet posted online asking about details of the case, revealing that OAN planned to run a report on Seth Rich.

Attacks against investigators looking into Seth Rich have been lead largely by the Washington Post, who has claimed that the story is a conspiracy theory without fielding much basis for such accusations. The decision of the Post to employ Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta as a contributing columnist only serves to undermine their ability to factually report on Seth Rich’s murder in a manner which maintains a commitment to journalistic ethics and integrity. Oliver Darcy from CNN also posted yesterday and revealed that he had badgered Fox News into censoring one of their reporters who was posting about Seth Rich on Twitter. Darcy was recently blasted by Julian Assange on Twitter for misleadingly citing him in an article about Assange’s intention to appear on the radio.

II. Close Affiliation Of Groups Involved In Crime To DNC And D.C. Figures

One of the most troubling aspects of the Seth Rich case is the pervasive connection between central figures in the case to organizations with deeply established ties to criminal activity. An August 2016 tweet from Wikileaks revealed that Rich family spokesperson Brad Bauman is a crisis public relations consultant working with the Pastorum Group. A media release from the Pastorum Group reveals that Bauman previously worked for the DNC and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

The SEIU has previously been reported by the Wall Street Journal as a “top spender” for the Democrats, openly endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and actively assisted in her campaign. It has been widely criticized by some groups for the involvement of union members in crimes including embezzlement, criminal conspiracy, perjury and identity theft. The SEIU is also a client of the Strategic Consulting Group, which was founded by the Democratic operative Robert Creamer. In 2016, Creamer was implicated in footage obtained by journalist James O’Keefe which revealed that Creamer was engaging in voting fraud and violent disruption of political events, sometimes using his connections to unions who were as clients of his.

On June 6th, 2016, Politico reported that Brandon Davis, the former national political director for the SEIU, took a position as the DNC’s chief of staff. In 2014, the SEIU chapter in charge of representing health care workers in Washington D.C. also gave their endorsement to mayor Muriel Bowser. Hospitals which are staffed by SEIU members include MedStar Washington Hospital Center, where Seth Rich was taken for medical care after being shot.

Medstar Washington Hospital Center has a problematic history of substandard care at the facility and the implication of past employees in the death of patients. In December 2014, the Washington Post reported that nurses at Medstar Washington Hospital went on strike, alleging understaffing, unsafe conditions and inadequate pay for nurses. The hospital was also rocked by controversy in 2016, when two former security guards at Medstar Washington Hospital were arrested and are currently standing trial for involuntary manslaughter after a patient died while being restrained when he tried to walk out of the hospital without an official discharge.

Chapters of the SEIU are also listed as partners of the Wellstone Foundation, which Disobedient Media revealed earlier this week to be collaborating with organizations tied to George Soros and individuals previously investigated by the FBI for their ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

The Washington D.C. area suffers from a pervasive infestation by mafia organizations. In 1987, the Washington Post ran a detailed report, revealing crime families from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York and Sicily had become increasingly involved with drug trafficking in Washington D.C., using pizza parlors as fronts to move narcotics. The report specifically mentioned pizzerias at L’Enfant Plaza and another at Tysons Corner as locations where police had discovered mob activity. Mafia groups have traditionally been able to operate freely in Washington D.C. by paying police large sums each month for protection.

III. The D.C. Police’s Investigation Has Been Hampered By Corruption And Incompetence

Details surrounding the investigation into Rich’s murder continue to raise concerns about the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s efforts to identify Seth Rich’s killers. The public incident report filed after Rich’s death shows that several officers who responded to the scene of the crime were wearing body cameras. But the Metropolitan Police claimed the footage was “lost” when met with requests to release the videos, which might have provided important clues.

Police also maintain that they no longer possess surveillance camera footage which might provide important clues about the identities of the killers. But the Washington Times reported in 2013 that police were increasingly relying on such footage in criminal cases. 5th District Cmdr. Andrew Solberg stated to the Times that such footage was the “first thing” that D.C. police typically look for. A May 21st, 2017 report by World Net Daily has additionally established that police failed to speak with staff at Lou’s City Bar (where Rich was last seen alive) to enquire about whether they had any pertinent evidence. The accusations of impropriety are further compounded by the close relationship which the D.C. Police Department has to figures close to the DNC. Observers have noted that the Heather Podesta, wife of John Podesta’s brother Tony, sits on the board of the Washington D.C. Police Foundation.

Even stranger, police chief Cathy Lanier resigned just a month after Rich’s death. The Washington Times reported that as she left her position, Lanier blasted Washington D.C.’s criminal justice system as “broken” and directly stated that her departure was due to the city’s refusal to deal with the problem. Her replacement, Peter Newsham, has been plagued by past allegations of alcoholism and domestic violence. Newsham was also accused of severely mishandling a rape case after the family of an 11 year old girl alleged that he allowed the victim to be charged with filing a false report despite several medical accounts detailing her sexual injuries and genetic evidence indicating that she had been abused by multiple assailants.

It is also not clear why police would seize Rich’s laptop for an investigation into what was supposed to be a robbery gone bad. The Washington Post claimed that neither the FBI nor the police were in possession of Rich’s laptop. But this claim contradicts a report by the Washington Examiner which cited a former law enforcement official who stated that the laptop was examined during the investigation.

IV. Close Involvement Of Individuals Close To The DNC And Seth Rich With The White House

Records show that a number of individuals close to the DNC were visiting the White House both before and after Rich’s death. White House Visitor Logs show that Strategic Consulting Group founder Robert Creamer visited the White House on July 6th and July 12th. Additionally, White House visitor logs and Facebook posts reveal that Joe Capone, the owner of Lou’s bar, was at the White House on July 6th, the same day as Creamer. The Washington Post reported that Capone had badgered Rich about which candidate he planned to support in the DNC primary before he was killed. Capone also appeared in a campaign ad for D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser, who endorsed Hillary Clinton for president along with most of D.C.’s council members.

The infamous June 27th, 2016 tarmac meeting between Bill Clinton and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch also raises the possibility that multiple officials in the U.S. government might have been aware of a large number of corruption related issues concerning the DNC and took no action to address them. Former FBI Director James Comey has specifically mentioned the tarmac meeting as a turning point which “set off a series of events” which influenced him to take multiple actions during the 2016 U.S. presidential elections which broke protocol and stoked a frenzy of speculation about corruption related to Hillary Clinton and DNC officials. The NSA has refused to release the transcript of the tarmac meeting, citing “national security.”

The extreme censorship and propaganda efforts to silence reporters giving attention to the Seth Rich story, the deep involvement of the scandal ridden SEIU to multiple members of the DNC who have played roles in the case, the inept and corruption-affected investigation into Rich’s death by the D.C. Police and suspicious activity surrounding the White House and Obama administration officials in the days and weeks leading up to Rich’s murder all create real concerns that facts about Seth Rich’s murder are being suppressed to prevent a political scandal.

http://disobedientmedia.com/2017/06/questions-linger-about-seth-rich-murder-details/