News

Actions

Fox News sued for conspiracy story on slain DNC staffer Rich

Posted
and last updated

(WJLA/CNN) - The family of slain 27-year-old Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich is suing Fox News.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, the family said Fox News contacted them under false pretenses to support a story it published tying Rich's unsolved murder to a false conspiracy theory that he was killed because he gave DNC emails to WikiLeaks.

The suit also names Fox News reporter Malia Zimmerman and Texas businessman Ed Butowsky and said they worked together to develop a "sham" story about Rich's death.

Rich's family is seeking compensation for "mental anguish and emotional distress, emotional pain and suffering, and any other physical and mental injuries."

Rich was shot in the back as he was headed home one night in Washington, DC, in July 2016. His killing has not been solved.

The story connecting the conspiracy to his death stayed on Fox News' website for several days and was talked about on the air.

Fox said when it finally retracted the story that it would carry out an investigation into its reporting but no updates or comments about the story have been announced.

Neither a Fox News spokesperson nor Zimmerman immediately responded to a request for comment.

Butowsky told CNN on Tuesday night that the lawsuit didn't make sense to him.

Copyright 2018 WJLA via CNN. All rights reserved.