Ed Butowsky \ Bill Binney and the Seth Rich Conspiracy

Fri, 24 May 2024 22:59:08 +0000

Ed Butowsky is a financial adviser and a vocal supporter of Donald Trump who played a significant role in promoting the conspiracy theory. Butowsky funded a private investigator, Rod Wheeler, to look into Seth Rich's murder. He was instrumental in working with Fox News on a retracted 2017 story that falsely claimed Rich was linked to the DNC email leaks, which were actually hacked by Russian operatives. Butowsky's efforts aimed to divert blame from Russia and suggested that Rich's murder was a political assassination. This story gained traction through right-wing media outlets, with Butowsky making several unfounded allegations, including claims against Seth Rich's brother, Aaron Rich, which led to legal actions and settlements​ (The Daily Beast)​​ (The Nation)​.

Bill Binney, a former NSA official turned whistleblower, indirectly supported the theory by questioning the official narrative of the DNC hack. Binney has publicly argued that the data transfer speed of the DNC emails suggested an inside job rather than a remote hack by Russians. His statements have been used by proponents of the Seth Rich conspiracy to lend credibility to the idea that Rich might have been involved in the leak. Although Binney did not directly endorse the theory involving Seth Rich, his technical arguments about the DNC email leaks were co-opted by conspiracy theorists to support their narrative​ (The Nation)​.

Overall, Butowsky and Binney's contributions played distinct but complementary roles in perpetuating the Seth Rich conspiracy theory. Butowsky actively promoted and funded the narrative, while Binney's technical assertions provided a veneer of legitimacy that conspiracy theorists leveraged to bolster their claims. This collaboration, whether intentional or not, significantly fueled the conspiracy theory's persistence in certain media circles.