Father of Murdered DNC Staffer Speaks on Late Son’s Political Plans
The father of the murdered DNC staffer, Joel Rich, is speaking out, urging those with information about his son’s death to step forward.
27-year-old Seth Conrad Rich, a Democratic National Committee analyst, was walking home near his Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Bloomingdale on July 10 when he was shot twice in the back. Police officers responded quickly to reports of gunshots, but Rich died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
“We want to get this solved, that’s the number one thing,” his father said in an interview with Daily Mail.
Initial reports from police suggested the incident may have been an attempted burglary in which Rich died during the struggle. D.C. police have offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
“We can’t bring Seth back but we can try to make the city safer and take away the person who wanted to go after someone just for a cellphone,” Rich continued.
Rich told Daily Mail that Seth had been active in various levels of politics in House and Senate campaigns, and had always wanted to work on a presidential campaign.
“He had just been asked to join the Clinton campaign — four days before he was murdered,” Rich said. “He was really excited about that.”
Although burglary was initially speculated as the reason for Rich’s death, there has been ongoing Internet rumors surmising that the DNC staffer’s death may have been related to the recent WikiLeaks DNC email hack.
Some have been “suggesting he had handed WikiLeaks the 20,000 emails that embarrassed the DNC and forced the ouster of its chairwoman,” wrote the Washington Post. “Others suggested he was helping the FBI expose wrongdoing in the presidential election, and that made him a target.”
Adding fuel to those rumors, WikiLeaks announced on Twitter Tuesday that it will offer a $20,000 reward for any information regarding Rich’s murder.
ANNOUNCE: WikiLeaks has decided to issue a US$20k reward for information leading to conviction for the murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 9, 2016
Rich’s father said that while he is pleased with any additional reward that could help bring the perpetrator to justice, he believes the rumors circulating about his son’s possible involvement with WikiLeaks are “bizarre.”
“I hope the additional money helps find out who did this,” But, he said, “I don’t want to play WikiLeaks’ game.” (For more from the author of “Father of Murdered DNC Staffer Speaks on Late Son’s Political Plans” please click HERE)
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