The FBI has asked a federal court for a second delay after being ordered to produce information from Seth Rich's computer to a Texas resident, Brian Huddleston who has sued the bureau.
Huddleston says that the court should force the agency to produce the information before the 2024 presidential election, as it may show that Rich, not Russians, was Wikileaks' source of leaked emails which were damaging to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US election.
On Thursday, the FBI asked Obama-appointed US District Judge Amos Mazzant to reconsider their request not to produce the documents, and should be withheld under exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The filing was a response to Mazzant's Nov. 2023 order to hand over images of Mr. Rich's personal computer, as well as an index of his work computer.
It gets better; the FBI initially claimed that they didn't have said records - only to later admit to being in possession of Rich's personal and work computers, along with other items.
As if it wasn't suspicious enough that the FBI is stonewalling on information related to a 'mugging gone wrong.'
According to Ty Clevenger, Huddleston's attorney, the judge should deny the FBI's latest bid for a production delay.
"A presidential election is fast approaching, and voters have the right to know (1) whether the FBI knowingly framed one of the frontrunners, i.e., former President Trump; and (2) whether the FBI is still trying to cover up its partisan political activities," he wrote.
"It is bad enough that FBI personnel took opposition research from the Hillary Clinton campaign and used it to open a bad-faith investigation of Mr. Trump, thereby sabotaging him for more than two years," Clevenger added. "It would be considerably worse and considerably more scandalous, however, if FBI personnel knew all along that Seth Rich—not Russian hackers—was responsible for leaking DNC emails to Wikileaks."
Many believe that Rich was indeed the source of the leaked DNC emails provided to WikiLeaks – a rumor which was fueled by the odd circumstances surrounding his death, the sudden retirement of D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier five weeks after the murder, and an email John Podesta sent to Hillary’s inner circle about 'making an example' of a suspected leaker, written more than a year before Rich's death.
Troves of emails were published by Wikileaks giving insight into the corrupt inner machination of the Democratic National Committee. While Rich was never officially revealed as the source of the leaked emails, it has been heavily suggested. Julian Assange was one key figure who made that suggestion when he highlighted Rich's murder during a 2016 interview in which he was asked about the risks that come with operating WikiLeaks. Megavideo founder and entrepeneur Kim Dotcom said in May of 2017 that he worked with Rich to connect him with Assange.
I knew Seth Rich. I know he was the @Wikileaks source. I was involved. https://t.co/MbGQteHhZM
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) May 20, 2017
At one point, Assange heavily implied Rich was his source for the DNC emails. Meanwhile, WikiLeaks offered a $130,000 reward for information leading to the murderer of Rich.
Julian Assange on Seth Rich
— Te𝕏asLindsay™ (@TexasLindsay_) November 29, 2023
h/t @KristinaDawn7 pic.twitter.com/mfoIolR7c8