U.S. Congressman from Tennessee Tim Burchett is demanding transparency in one of Washington’s most sensitive unsolved cases: the 2016 killing of DNC staffer Seth Rich. Earlier this week, Burchett announced that he had formally asked FBI Director Kash Patel to release all FBI records related to Rich’s death.
His office said plainly that the American people deserve answers. Rich was only 27 years old when he was shot and killed while walking home in Washington, D.C., in the early morning hours of July 10, 2016. Police called it a botched robbery, but the case remains unsolved nearly a decade later amidst a bevy of questions that have never come close to being answered.
Rich’s death became the center of intense public speculation after claims emerged that he may have been connected to leaked DNC emails. Those claims remain disputed, but what is not disputed is that the FBI’s handling of records has raised serious questions.
Attorney Ty Clevenger spent years fighting through FOIA requests in an attempt to get some semblance of transparency regarding the case. The FBI initially claimed it had no relevant records, but later admitted it had more than 20,000 pages of potentially relevant material, along with Rich’s work laptop and an image of his personal laptop.
Now, Clevenger says more documents may have surfaced inside a previously concealed FBI room — though that has not been confirmed by the bureau. Burchett is right. The FBI must release all the documents. It is clear to anyone who has peered into the case that Rich was likely murdered, perhaps as another name on the infamous Clinton Kill List.
Sunlight is the only way to disinfect the deep state, and that should begin with getting all of the Seth Rich files disclosed to the public.
