Source: WND

Death of former DNC worker suspected of involvement in hacking scandal still unsolved

A lawyer for one of the individuals caught up in the controversy over the unsolved murder of Democratic National Committee worker Seth Rich in Washington, D.C., in 2016 is asking acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell to declassify federal records in the case.

Ty Clevenger made the request in a letter on behalf of client Ed Butowsky after Grenell pushed the House Intelligence Committee to release 57 transcripts of testimony in the panel’s Russia-collusion investigation.

Butowsky, according to WND columnist Jack Cashill, “dared to ask questions no one in Washington wanted asked, let alone answered.” Butowsky is a high-profile author and financial adviser involved in several legal actions claiming it was Rich, not Russian hackers, who purloined data from the DNC during the 2016 presidential campaign and turned it over to Wikileaks.

Clevenger’s letter notes the 2016 murder of Rich in Washington near his home and the fact that it still is unsolved.

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Butowsky’s lawsuits concern “whether former Democratic National Committee employee Seth Rich played a role in leaking emails from the DNC to Wikileaks,” the letter states.

“[Wikileaks founder] Julian Assange strongly inferred that Mr. Rich – rather than Russian hackers – was responsible for sending the emails to Wikileaks,” the letter states.

“I am reliably informed that the NSA or its partners intercepted at least some of the communications between Mr. Rich and Wikileaks,” Clevenger wrote, noting the “deep state” already has tried to cover up information about Rich.

“Last September, Judicial Watch inadvertently obtained records about Mr. Rich by requesting communications between FBI lawyer Lisa Page and supervisory agent Peter Strzok. The header in the heavily redacted email string is “Seth Rich” and in one email Agent Strzok boasts about having ‘squashed’ something pertaining to Mr. Rich,” Clevenger wrote.

Further, Clevenger explained, he deposed Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Sines, the prosecutor in the Rich murder case. She said the FBI investigated possible intrusion of Rich’s electronic accounts, the bureau examined Rich’s computer and the FBI “did have” records pertaining to Rich.

Clevenger also said famed journalist Seymour Hersh reported a high-ranking FBI official said communications between Rich and Wikileaks exist.

Clevenger charged that “high-level officials” have pursued “extraordinary lengths to keep the [Russia collusion] hoax alive, and that extends to the false narrative that Russian agents were responsible for hacking the DNC.”

That was the conclusion of special counsel Robert Mueller. But Clevenger said Mueller’s source was “a CNN report.”

And Clevenger said several former NSA officials are ready to testify the DNC emails could not have been obtained by hacking because of markings on the published emails, “including the speeds at which the email files were transmitted.”

The government, however, refused to release any records.

The lawyer explained the rules prohibit “the use of classification for purposes of concealing wrongdoing, and I believe the NSA is trying to conceal wrongdoing that occurred during the Obama administration. I respectfully request that you de-classify the NSA’s records about Seth Rich, further directing the NSA to release the records.”

The witness transcripts recently released at Grenell’s urging showed several top Democratic officials said under oath they had no direct evidence of Trump campaign collusion with Russia.

Yet, the officials continued to insist in television interviews that they had evidence of collusion.

The day after the 2016 election, Clevenger wrote, veteran news reporter Ellen Ratner said at a symposium at Embry Riddle University that on the previous Saturday she had spent three hours with Wikileaks founder Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

More than an hour into the conversation, she said, Assange disclosed that “the leaks were not from, they were not from the Russians,” referring to the DNC emails.

“They were an internal source from the Hillary campaign.”

Butowsky claimed Ratner told him that Assange disclosed to her that Seth Rich and his brother, Aaron, “were responsible for releasing the DNC emails to Wikileaks.”

Rich, 27, was shot and killed as he walked home in the early morning hours of July 10, 2016. Nothing was taken from him, and he was shot in the back.

Assange told Dutch TV after the shooting: “Whistleblowers go to significant efforts to get us material and often very significant risks. There’s a 27-year-old, works for the DNC, was shot in the back, murdered just a few weeks ago for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington.”