Newt Gingrich Spews Conspiracy Theories About Seth Rich Murder

Seth Rich Image by Facebook

By Dave Goldiner May 21, 2017

Newt Gingrich parroted far right wing conspiracy theories about the unsolved murder of Democratic staffer Seth Rich — as allies of President Trump sought to use the puzzling case to shift attention from the burgeoning investigation of potential ties to Russia.

Without offering any evidence, the GOP mouthpiece told Fox News that Rich was “assassinated” after he became disillusioned with the Democrats and sent thousands of emails to Wikileaks.

“This young man … was assassinated at 4 in the morning, having given WikiLeaks something like 53,000 emails and 17,000 attachments,” Gingrich said. “Nobody’s investigating that, and what does that tell you about what’s going on?”

Gingrich’s broadside appears to be part of a wider GOP campaign to use the Rich murder to suggest that Trump’s campaign was in no way responsible for the Russian hack of the Democratic National Committee.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is now investigating whether Trump or any of his associates colluded with the Russians or obstructed other probes into those allegations.

“(Rich) was disgusted by the corruption of the Democratic National Committee,” Gingrich said. “He’s been killed, and apparently nothing serious has been done to investigative his murder.”

Rich’s parents have denounced the conspiracy theories surrounding his murder near his Washington D.C. home last July.

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at goldiner@forward.com, or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

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