Seth Rich’s Parents Sue Fox News, Say Network ‘Intentionally Exploited’ Murder

Seth Rich Image by Facebook

By Ari Feldman March 14, 2018

The parents of the murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich are suing Fox News over their coverage of his death, claiming the network “intentionally exploited” the story as political cannon fodder, the Washington Post reported.

In May 2017, nearly a year after Rich’s unsolved murder in Washington, D.C., Fox News claimed to have evidence that Rich was behind the leak of thousands of DNC emails that he gave to Wikileaks. The story contradicted well-known U.S. intelligence that Russia hacked the DNC’s servers and stole the emails.

The story buffeted a popular conspiracy theory about Rich’s death — that it was ordered by Hillary Clinton for stealing the emails from the DNC.

Fox News’ story relied on nonexistent source material: an “FBI report” and “federal investigator” that didn’t exist. The other main source was a Fox News contributor and private investigator who said his words were taken out of context, and who eventually sued Fox News over the story. Fox News retracted the story six days after publication.

“No parent should ever have to live through what we have been forced to endure,” Rich’s parents, Joel and Mary Rich said in a statement. “The pain and anguish that comes from seeing your murdered son’s life and legacy treated as a mere political football is beyond comprehension.”

Update, March 14, 12:00 p.m. — A representative for Fox News asked that we include this statement: “We can’t comment on this pending litigation.”

Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. He covers Jewish religious organizations, synagogue life, anti-Semitism and the Orthodox world. If you have any tips, you can email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aefeldman.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO