Seth Rich's Parents Sue Fox News: Report

WASHINGTON, DC -- Fox News is being sued by the parents of slain Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich over a story that appears to insinuate he was assassinated by operatives on behalf of Hillary Clinton or the DNC.

Police say that a botched robbery is the likely explanation for Rich's death in D.C. back in July 2016, but right-wing conspiracy theorists have spread the claim that Rich was murdered for releasing DNC emails to Wikileaks -- despite the unanimous view of U.S. intelligence agencies that the Russians were behind the leaks.

Reputable news outlets stayed far away from such conspiracy theories, until Fox News decided to publish a story May 16, 2017, that claimed Rich was in contact with Wikileaks and may have been the leaker. The source of the story later backtracked, and Fox News retracted it.

NBC 4 reports that Rich's parents, Mary and Joel Rich, say their son never leaked documents, and they are suing Fox News for inflicting emotional distress, interference with a contract, and negligence. They are asking for $75,000. The Riches have called the death of their son a "nightmare" and are asking conspiracy theorists using their son to attack Democrats to "stop politicizing" his death.

Fox 5 did not mince words in its report, arguing that its findings represent solid evidence that Clinton essentially had someone murdered: "[O]nline conspiracy theories have tied the murder to Rich's work at the DNC. Just two months shy of the one-year anniversary of Rich's death, FOX 5 has learned there is new information that could prove these theorists right."

However, the report was riddled with major problems. The report relies entirely on Rod Wheeler, a private investigator who is looking into Rich's death. Wheeler supposedly had "tangible" evidence that Rich has been in contact with Wikileaks, but that evidence never appears. Wheeler said he believed the answer to Rich's death was on a computer in the custody of authorities.

Wheeler, a Fox News contributor and President Trump supporter, is widely seen as a publicity hound with some major credibility issues. In his most infamous incident, he was ridiculed after going on "The O'Reilly Factor" in 2007 and claiming that approximately 150 pink pistol-packing lesbian gangs were raping young girls in the D.C. area, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Wheeler later issued a clarification and apology, saying he misspoke. O'Reilly also issued a clarification but stood by the core of the story.

Fox News declined to comment: "We can't comment on this pending litigation."

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