While the law enforcement and intelligence community, along with the mainstream media, has been pushing the meme that there is no basis to believe that Seth Rich, as claimed by multiple independent sources, had contact with Julian Assange’s Wikileaks, the evidence suggests otherwise and it turns out the FBI has been covering up more relevant documents.

The first hint of the coverup came from David Hardy, an FBI Senior official, who affirmed in a 2017 affidavit that there were no responsive records. Hardy is the Section Chief of the Record/Information Dissemination Section (“RIDS”), Information Management Division (“IMD”),1 Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), in Winchester, Virginia. Here are the relevant portions of his first affidavit:

(19) CRS Search and Results. In response to Plaintiff’s request dated September 1, 2017, RIDS conducted an index search of the CRS for responsive main and reference file records employing the UNI application of ACS. The FBI searched the subject’s name, “Seth Conrad Rich,” in order to identify files responsive to Plaintiff’s request and subject to the FOIA. The FBI’s searches included a three-way phonetic breakdown5 of the subject’s name. These searches located no main or reference records responsive to Plaintiff’s FOIA request.

(9) By letter executed on November 9, 2017, OIP advised Plaintiff it affirmed the FBI’s determination. OIP further advised Plaintiff that to the extent his request sought access to records that would either confirm or deny an individual’s placement on any government watch list, the FBI properly refused to confirm or deny the existence of any such records because their existence is protected from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(E). . .

David Hardy either was lying or dangerously incompetent. The FBI did have documents–emails to be specific. The FBI’s habit of stonewalling or denying that it has documents, in this case documents related to Seth Rich, is not unique to this case. Just ask Carter Page or General Michael Flynn.

The FBI finally admitted to Judicial Watch in January 2020 that they had emails between the Washington Field Office and FBI Headquarters. These are dynamite because they show that the FBI’s Washington Field Office (which is not located at FBI Headquarters on 9th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW in Washington, DC) was communicating with the FBI’s Peter Strzok and the Counter Intelligence Division. Why in the world would the FBI be involved in investigating what was supposedly a mere robbery of an unfortunate white victim (i.e., Seth Rich) and communicating on this investigation with the Counter Intelligence Division (CID) of the FBI. The CID only works international spy cases.

Here are the emails (I transcribed them and put them in chronological order to facilitate your ability to read them and understand what is being communicated).

10:32 am — Message sent from FBI’s Washington Field Office Public Affairs officer to at least three other Washington Field Office FBI Agents. In addition, there are three other blacked out areas in the addressee field, which appear to be the names of persons who do not work at the Washington Field Office.

• I hope you are well. I heard from the front office that you are covering for BLANK this week. Various news outlets are reporting today that Julian Assange suggested during an overseas interview that DNC Staffer, Seth Rich, was a Wikileaks source and may have been killed because he leaked the DNC e-mails to his organization, and that Wikileaks is offering $20,000 for information regarding the death of Seth Rich last month. Based on this news, we anticipate additional press coverage on this matter. I hear that you are in a class today; however, when you have a moment can you give me a call to discuss what involvement the FBI has in the investigation.

12:53 pm — Message replying to the 10:32 am message, sent from FBI Washington Field Office with at least four other Washington Field Office FBI Agents addressed on the message. There also are two other blacked out addresses, which may indicate personnel not in the Washington Field Office.

• Adding BLANK (a name to the addressee list). I am aware of this reporting from earlier this week, but not any involvement in any related case. BLANKED OUT.

12:54 pm — Message sent from FBI Washington Field Office with at least four other Washington Field Office FBI Agents addressed on the message. There also are two other blacked out addresses, which may indicate personnel not in the Washington Field Office.

• Adding BLANK for real. Stupid Samsung. (Apparently the author of this message failed in the preceding message.)

 

1:00 pm — Message replying to the 12:54 pm message, sent from FBI Washington Field Office with five other Washington Field Office FBI Agents addressed on the message. 

• Hi. (THE REST OF THE MESSAGE IS BLANKED OUT.)

1:25 pm — Message replying to the 1:00 pm message, sent from FBI Washington Field Office with five other Washington Field Office FBI Agents addressed on the message. Plus, two other BLANKED out addressees not identified.

• Thanks BLANK will do.

7:09 pm — Message from FBI Washington Field Office to Jonathan Moffat and Peter Strzok of the FBI’s Criminal Division and two other BLANKED out addressees.

• FYSA (For Your Situational Awareness). I squashed this with BLANK

7:49 pm Text message from Peter Strzok to Lisa Page forwarding her this email chain.

Let me emphasize that this is anything but routine. It extraordinary and unprecedented for the FBI’s CID to be involved in a simple urban robbery. Something else was afoot.

Now we have the next amazing development. After repeatedly denying the FBI had any documents regarding Seth Rich, the US Attorney in Texas has admitted the FBI has a number of documents responsive to Mr. Clevenger’s latest request. Ty received the following cryptic notification:

—– Forwarded Message —–

From: Parker, Andrea (USATXE)

To: Ty Clevenger

Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2020, 11:50:01 AM EDT

Subject: Huddleston v. FBI & The Transparency Project Cases

Ty, Regarding Huddleston, FBI agency counsel has informed me that the search is complete and they are now working on a page count and conversion. I am preparing draft JCRs and scheduling orders in the TPP cases, which I will forward to you this week. Andrea

This is more than another text or two that has already been released. This is a new batch of material. So what could it be? It may be related to information described by legendary investigative reporter, Sy Hersh, in a recent deposition in a civil case:

Beginning back in January 2017,- Person X received  information from Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, that one of his sources had received information from an FBI report stating that Seth Rich had leaked emails to Wikileaks, requested payment and made copies of the emails as a precautionary measure. During his recent deposition in a case pending in the District Court for the District of Columbia, my colleague, [Lawyer Y] obtained admissions from Mr. Hersh that his source was “very, very knowledgeable,” ” incredibly accurate,” “tru s ted,” someone “senior ” in the intelligence community, and a person Mr. Hersh had known for over 30 years. Mr. Hersh also admitted that it was ” absolutely true ” that his source had communicated information that Seth Rich transmitted emails to Wikileaks, requested payment and made copies of the relevant emails to secure his protect.

This is not the first indication that the intelligence community has classified information regarding Seth Rich and Wikileaks. The NSA indicated it has 15 documents that are highly classified in a letter to Ty Clevenger in response to a FOIA request filed in November 2017 on behalf of his client. Clevenger requested any information regarding Seth Rich and and Julian Assange. The NSA informed Clevenger in a letter dated 4 October 2018 that:

Your request has been processed under the provisions of the FOIA. Fifteen documents (32 pages) responsive to your request have been reviewed by this Agency as required by the FOIA and have found to be currently and properly classified in accordance with Executive Order 13526. These documents meet the criteria for classification as set forth in Subparagraph (c) of Section 1.4 and remains classified TOP SECRET and SECRET.

Slowly, painfully so, the truth is starting to come out and the FBI is being compelled to release material that it tried to bury in the bowels of its bureaucracy. Stay tuned.