It has been claimed that murdered US Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffer Seth Rich was the source of sensitive documents leaked to WikiLeaks.
But this claim is not from WikiLeaks, which has a long-held policy of never divulging its sources. Instead, it comes from New Zealand-based cyber entrepreneur Kim Dotcom. And on 23 May, Dotcom issued a statement clarifying his claim.
Seth Rich and the DNC leak
Kim Dotcom published the following statement on 23 May 2017:
I know that Seth Rich was involved in the DNC leak… because in late 2014 a person contacted me about helping me to start a branch of the Internet Party in the United States. He called himself Panda. I now know that Panda was Seth Rich… If my evidence is required to be given in the United States, I would be prepared to do so if appropriate arrangements are made. I would need a guarantee from Special Counsel Mueller, on behalf of the United States, of safe passage from New Zealand to the United States and back.
He added:
In the coming days we will be communicating with the appropriate authorities to make the necessary arrangements.
Dotcom had previously tweeted:
I knew Seth Rich. I know he was the @Wikileaks source. I was involved. https://t.co/MbGQteHhZM
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) May 20, 2017
That same day, ‘Anonymous’ posted a statement claiming that preparation for the impeachment of Donald Trump may not proceed because US Democrats are fearful of damaging information about their party:
Sean Hannity from Fox News invited Dotcom to be a guest on his radio show the following day, to discuss the claims about Rich and WikiLeaks.
Rich’s murder
On 8 July 2016, Rich was murdered in Washington DC. There were no signs of a robbery. The following month, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange took the unusual step of offering $20,000 reward for information about the killer.
Subsequently, Assange undertook an interview with a Dutch TV station. And while he didn’t confirm Rich as the source of leaks to WikiLeaks, there was strong intimation that he was:
And according to Fox News, a federal source confirmed that:
an FBI forensic report of Rich’s computer — generated within 96 hours after Rich’s murder — showed he made contact with WikiLeaks through Gavin MacFadyen, a now-deceased American investigative reporter, documentary filmmaker, and director of WikiLeaks who was living in London at the time.
Coincidence for WikiLeaks?
Former DC homicide detective Rod Wheeler also told Fox News that Rich sent 44,053 emails and 17,761 attachments to MacFayden before 21 May 2016. And that happens to be the exact number included in the leak to WikiLeaks.
Meanwhile, Assange could face extradition (or even kidnapping) to the US, as the authorities there step up the rhetoric.
If Kim Dotcom backs up his claims with hard evidence to the US authorities, that would prove a massive blow to the US Democratic establishment. At the same time, it would provide succour to embattled US President Donald Trump, whose associates are currently under investigation for alleged links with Russia.
Get Involved!
– Read up on the latest from WikiLeaks.
– Donate to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Featured image via Medium
