Seth Rich's parents sue Fox News over story linking son's death to WikiLeaks conspiracy
Joel and Mary Rich say the DNC staffer's 2016 murder has been 'treated as a mere political football'
Two years after Joel and Mary Rich lost their son Seth, people still stop them in the streets to spout conspiracy theories at them, their lawyer says.
Seth Rich, 27, was a Democratic National Committee employee who was killed in 2016 in what Washington police believe was a random robbery attempt.
His death has become regular fodder for conspiracy websites since Fox News published and later retracted a May 16, 2017, article alleging Rich had leaked DNC emails to WikiLeaks during the presidential campaign.
The family is suing Fox News, reporter Malia Zimmerman and frequent network guest Ed Butowsky for allegedly using "lies, misrepresentations and half-truths" in their coverage of Rich's death.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
The megaphone that Fox gave to these fringe conspiracies interfered with and arrested their ability to grieve.- Leonard A. Gail , attorney
"This has got to stop," lawyer Leonard A. Gail told As It Happens host Carol Off, saying the parents feel as though their son has been "murdered a second time" as a result of the coverage.
"Like anybody, you try to grieve and you only get to move beyond things when you've gone through a process of grief," he said.
"And the Fox story and the megaphone that Fox gave to these fringe conspiracies interfered with and arrested their ability to grieve."
Fox News declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
The network removed the story in question a week after it was posted, saying it was not initially subjected to its "high degree of editorial scrutiny."
The lawsuit claims Zimmerman and Butowsky intentionally fabricated the story connecting Rich to WikiLeaks, a site that publishes secret and restricted information.
"The people who concocted this story did so with disregard for their impact on actual living humans, namely the parents of the murdered child," Gail said.
Butowsky told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he did not write the article connecting Rich to Wikileaks and that it was "baseless and frivolous" to name him in the lawsuit.
Parents describe 'pain and anguish'
The story was heavily promoted by Fox News host Sean Hannity and other conservative pundits such as Alex Jones, whose website Infowars has also promoted conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook shootings and the Sept. 11 attacks.
"They're ... treating people like the Riches as cannon fodder, as collateral damage, in some sort of political war — a war they're not combatants in and have no interest in," Gail said. "It's just horrific."
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The Riches are not speaking publicly about the lawsuit, but have issued a statement.
"No parent should ever have to live through what we have been forced to endure," it reads.
"The pain and anguish that comes from seeing your murdered son's life and legacy treated as a mere political football is beyond comprehension."
2nd lawsuit related to Rich story
The lawsuit is not the first targeting Fox News over its reporting on Rich's death.
Private investigator Rod Wheeler sued the network in August for defamation, alleging Fox put words in his mouth when it posted the WikiLeaks story.
The story quoted Wheeler saying there had been contact between Rich and WikiLeaks.
Wheeler alleged in his lawsuit that the comments were false and were put in the story at the behest of U.S. President Donald Trump to discredit investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had no knowledge of the false story before it was posted and had no role in shaping it.
With files from The Associated Press.