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posted by n1 on Thursday August 11 2016, @05:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the it-was-some-puerto-rican-guy dept.

WikiLeaks has announced a $20,000 bounty for information leading to a conviction in the case of a murdered Democratic National Committee staffer:

The speculation started within days of Seth Rich being gunned down in what D.C. police believe was an attempted robbery near his townhouse in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Northwest Washington.

Some on the Internet wondered if Rich was killed because of his work as a staffer with the Democratic National Committee, even suggesting he had handed WikiLeaks the 20,000 emails that embarrassed the DNC and forced the ouster of its chairwoman. Others suggested he was helping the FBI expose wrongdoing in the presidential election, and that made him a target.

On Tuesday, WikiLeaks shoved those conspiracy theories into the mainstream when it announced on Twitter a $20,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in Rich's killing on July 10 in the 2100 block of Flagler Place NW. It adds to a $25,000 reward offered by D.C. police, customary in all District homicides.

Julian Assange maintains that the organization does not reveal its sources, even after their deaths:

Speaking to Dutch television program Nieuswsuur Tuesday after earlier announcing a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Seth Rich's killer, Assange said the July 10 murder of Rich in Northwest Washington was an example of the risk leakers undertake. "Whistle-blowers go to significant efforts to get us material and often very significant risks," Assange said. "As a 27-year-old, works for the DNC, was shot in the back, murdered just a few weeks ago for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington."

When the interviewer interjected that the murder may have been a robbery, Assange pushed back. "No," he said. "There's no finding. So... I'm suggesting that our sources take risks." When pressed as to whether Rich was, in fact, the leaker, Assange stated that the organization does not reveal its sources.

Also at Slate and WAMU.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 11 2016, @07:00PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 11 2016, @07:00PM (#386732)

    If the staffer was the source, encouraging capture of the killer seems like a good idea.

    I think encouraging the capture of the killer is a good idea independent of whether or not the staffer leaked any information.

  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday August 11 2016, @07:12PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday August 11 2016, @07:12PM (#386737) Journal

    Sure, but why should Julian Assange/Wikileaks of all the millions of people and orgs out there with $20k to kick around be the one to post the bounty?

    Heck, there may even be a way to coordinate with the MPDC to increase the existing $25k bounty anonymously, in order to avoid making the dead man look like a possible WikiLeaks source. Instead, it was posted on the @wikileaks Twitter.

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    • (Score: 2) by urza9814 on Friday August 12 2016, @02:25AM

      by urza9814 (3954) on Friday August 12 2016, @02:25AM (#386875) Journal

      Sure, but why should Julian Assange/Wikileaks of all the millions of people and orgs out there with $20k to kick around be the one to post the bounty?

      Heck, there may even be a way to coordinate with the MPDC to increase the existing $25k bounty anonymously, in order to avoid making the dead man look like a possible WikiLeaks source. Instead, it was posted on the @wikileaks Twitter.

      Suppose this guy was actually killed for leaking that or some other information. If you have information about that, are you going to trust the MPDC? The people whose boss's boss's boss was responsible?

      IF the conspiracy theory is right, and IF someone has proof of this, they're certainly not going to give that proof to the police. It's much more likely that they'd be willing to give it to Wikileaks. I don't personally think that theory is all that likely either, but if it is indeed true, who else could really offer a reward for that information and actually be trusted with it?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 12 2016, @03:14AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 12 2016, @03:14AM (#386882)

        Is that bounty not available if you just publish the information? Must you only give it to the police and no one else?

        Basically your entire argument boils down to a world so enormously compromised that there is no room for good actors in any position of authority. In which case, why should anyone even bother sticking their neck out for a dead guy?