Trump Allies Knew Seth Rich Conspiracy Theory Was False — But Still Spread It

Roger Stone Image by Getty Images

By Alyssa Fisher November 29, 2018

Two allies of President Trump knew that a conspiracy theory about murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich was not true — yet they perpetuated it anyway, Slate reported.

Both Roger Stone, a longtime Trump political advisor, and Jerome Corsi, like Trump a major proponent of the conspiracy theory that former president Barack Obama was not born in the United States, have been investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Reports emerged Tuesday that Corsi had emailed Stone about Hillary Clinton’s hacked emails, and in that note, the two acknowledged the true situation surrounding Rich: The Democrat emails published on Wikileaks during the 2016 election were obtained by Russian hackers, not stolen by the DNC staffer.

Yet, they continued to peddle the theory that Rich was murdered over his alleged role in the leaked emails, according to The Daily Beast. Stone was one of the first major figures to suggest it, tweeting in August 2016 that Rich had “ties to DNC heist.”

Rich was shot to death in Washington, D.C., in July 2016 in what police believe was a botched robbery. His family has filed lawsuits against conservative activists and media organizations that have allegedly spread the conspiracy theories surrounding his death.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at fisher@forward.com, or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

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