Lawsuit Alleges White House and Faux News Coordinated on Seth Rich Conspiracy…

stringer bell
stringer bell Members Posts: 26,212 ✭✭✭✭✭
http://www.npr.org/2017/08/01/540783715/lawsuit-alleges-fox-news-and-trump-supporter-created-fake-news-story

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/bombshell-lawsuit-alleges-white-house-and-fox-news-coordinated-on-debunked-seth-rich-conspiracy-theory/
A new lawsuit alleges Fox News and a wealthy Trump supporter — under the supervision of the White House — worked to fabricate the debunked conspiracy theory that Seth Rich was murdered because of his connections to Wikileaks.

NPR’s David Folkenflik is reporting that those explosive allegations are being made by Rod Wheeler, a Fox News contributor and private investigator who was the source of the false information that formed the initial Fox News report that brought the theory to national prominence.

The conspiracy theory follows that Rich, a DNC staffer who was slain in July 2016 in what police believe was a botched robbery, was actually murdered after he passed on documents from the DNC to Wikileaks.

Wheeler, a Fox News commentator and private investigator hired by wealthy right-wing investor Ed Butowsky to investigate the murder, in May claimed to have evidence of contact between Rich and Wikileaks, and alleged that police were covering it up.

Despite being widely discredited, the story was picked up by conservative news outlets, and promoted extensively on Fox News shows like Sean Hannity’s — who continued to cover the story, even after Fox News was forced to retract their original report.

Doug Wigdoor, Wheeler’s lawyer is now claiming that his client “unfortunately was used as a ? by Ed Butowsky, Fox News and the Trump administration to try and steer away the attention that was being given about the Russian hacking of the DNC e-mails.”

The lawsuit further alleges that Butowsky partnered with Fox News reporter Malia Zimmerman to create the unfounded story.

What’s more, “Wheeler alleges he was told the Trump administration was monitoring their progress,” Folkenflik reports.

Butowsky even arranged a meeting with Sean Spicer in April, in which he and Wheeler presented their findings to the then-White House press secretary.

Spicer told NPR that he merely took the meeting as a courtesy to Butowsky, “a reliable Republican surrogate,” as Folkenflik notes.

In his report, Folkenflik provides a stunning timeline of how the report came to be, according to the lawsuit:

May 9: Trump fires FBI director James Comey, who was overseeing an investigation into Russian election meddling.

May 10: Zimmerman and Butowsky “call Wheeler to say they have an FBI source confirming emails were sent from Seth Rich to WikiLeaks.”

May 11: “Zimmerman sends Wheeler a draft of her story, which is to run initially on the network’s website. It includes no quotes from Wheeler.”

May 14: Butowsky sends an email to Fox & Friends hosts Ainsley Earhardt, Steve Doocey and Brian Kilmeade “coaching them on how to frame the Rich story.” In the email, Butowsky claimed the story would refute the notion of coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

May 15: Fox & Friends covers the story in the morning, after it was published on FoxNews.com and on affiliate Fox 5 DC. It goes national, before unravelling completely. Wheeler would later claim that the quotations in Zimmerman’s report were “were fabricated and untrue.”


http://lawnewz.com/uncategorized/5-scary-revelations-from-lawsuit-accusing-fox-news-of-conspiring-with-white-house/
5 Most Shocking Revelations from Lawsuit Accusing Fox News of Conspiring with White House

#1 Trump wanted the Seth Rich story out there because he thought it would deflect from Russia. Trump thought it would help put to bed the “speculation that President Trump colluded with Russia in an attempt to influence the outcome of the Presidential election.” Ed Butowsky, a Trump supporter and a named defendant, sent Rod Wheeler this text message:

Screen-Shot-2017-08-01-at-9.57.50-AM-e1501595908360.jpg

Wheeler contends less than 36 hours after this message was sent, Fox News published a story (which was later retracted) claiming that murdered Democratic National Committee staffer, Seth Rich, was the source of the now infamous DNC emails leaked by WikiLeaks during the 2016 Presidential primaries.

#2 President Trump reviewed the Fox News story on Seth Rich before it was published.

“Incredibly, according to Butowsky, the President reviewed an article written by a Fox News journalist prior to its publication and sought to get the article published ‘immediately,'” the lawsuit reads.


# 3 The Fox News reporter, Malia Zimmerman, fabricated two quotes in the article, and attributed them to Wheeler. Here are the quotes:

“‘My investigation up to this point shows there was some degree of email exchange between Seth Rich and Wikileaks,’ said Wheeler.”

“‘My investigation shows someone within the DC government, Democratic National Committee or Clinton team is blocking the murder investigation from going forward,’ Wheeler said. ‘That is unfortunate. Seth Rich’s murder is unsolved as a result of that.’”


#4 Wheeler presented his concerns to Fox News. Even after Wheeler presented his concerns regarding the fabricated quotes to Fox News, he was told to think of the story as an important political “narrative” that would replace the Russian story and that he needed to “stick to the script.” Fox News executives (per the suit: “Dianne Brandi, Fox News’s Executive Vice President, Legal and Business Affairs, and Jay Wallace, Fox News’s Executive Vice President of News and Editorial”) were made aware of Wheeler’s concerns almost immediately, but never addressed them directly.

#5 Completely unrelated to the Seth Rich-Russia narrative/agenda outlined in the lawsuit are allegations that Wheeler has been discriminated against by Fox News on the basis of his race. Wheeler has worked for the conservative cable news channel as a part-time contributor since 2005, repeatedly seeking full-time employment, which he has been denied. This, he claims, is due to a “systemic pattern and practice of discriminating against people of color.”

Comments

  • Copper
    Copper Members Posts: 49,532 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Theyre actively creating fake news with fox (the state run media) while claiming everyone else is fake news
  • BusterBreeze
    BusterBreeze Members Posts: 479 ✭✭✭✭✭
    we have a very despotic government ......get your guns and stay informed
  • caddo man
    caddo man Members Posts: 22,476 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2017
    And......................Nothing is going to happen. The republican are in charge of the Senate and the House and the last thing they need is for some how Trump is impeached. The first question that will be asked is "Was it illegal?" If not , "move along."

    Until the people that voted him in is mad then this is a non-issue.
  • VIBE
    VIBE Members Posts: 54,384 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I watched Fox News for a few yesterday. Their stories are stories, they don't cover Trump heavily. But ? , the way they twist things is insane. Tucker Carlson had a professor on yesterday talking about violent/hate speeches pushed by the alt-right. He went ahead to misinterpret what she meant/said and when she corrected him, he refused to have it..

    (4min video in the link)

    http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/07/31/tucker-carlson-debate-free-speech-professor-violence-milo

    and their channel also has an uncomfortable amount of NRA commercials...

    they need to be shut down

  • caddo man
    caddo man Members Posts: 22,476 ✭✭✭✭✭
    VIBE wrote: »
    I watched Fox News for a few yesterday. Their stories are stories, they don't cover Trump heavily. But ? , the way they twist things is insane. Tucker Carlson had a professor on yesterday talking about violent/hate speeches pushed by the alt-right. He went ahead to misinterpret what she meant/said and when she corrected him, he refused to have it..

    (4min video in the link)

    http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/07/31/tucker-carlson-debate-free-speech-professor-violence-milo

    and their channel also has an uncomfortable amount of NRA commercials...

    they need to be shut down

    As long as they have an audience and making money...................you know whatsup.
  • nex gin
    nex gin Members Posts: 10,698 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Destroy and rebuild. Some days that feels like the only option if we ever hope for true change in this world.
    With that said....I predict that nothing will come of this.
  • dalyricalbandit
    dalyricalbandit Members, Moderators Posts: 67,918 Regulator
    edited August 2017
    Shut down fox and lock all them ? up
  • ThaNubianGod
    ThaNubianGod Members Posts: 1,862 ✭✭✭✭✭
    This is gonna backfire because Assange could easily just show that Rich was his source. They tryin to bury this story but only will bring more attention to it.
  • Koltrain
    Koltrain Members Posts: 4,286 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I can't even keep up with the number of scandals involving this administration. It's mind bottling..one thing for sure, the media is paid and controlled. Whoever is paying is in control..
  • stringer bell
    stringer bell Members Posts: 26,212 ✭✭✭✭✭
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/lawsuit-alleges-white-house-link-fox-news-seth-rich-conspiracy
    In a statement Tuesday, Jay Wallace, the president of news at Fox News, said that the lawsuit’s allegation that Fox News pushed the story as a distraction from coverage of the Russia probes is “erroneous.”

    “The accusation that FoxNews.com published Malia Zimmerman’s story to help detract from coverage of the Russia collusion issue is completely erroneous. The retraction of this story is still being investigated internally and we have no evidence that Rod Wheeler was misquoted by Zimmerman. Additionally, FOX News vehemently denies the race discrimination claims in the lawsuit — the dispute between Zimmerman and Rod Wheeler has nothing to do with race,” Wallace said in a statement.

    Fox News played a big role in pushing the conspiracy theory about Rich, who was murdered in Washington, D.C. in July 2016. Host Sean Hannity in particular pushed the bogus narrative, and his obsession was fueled by the bogus story published in May. Following the retraction and pleas from Rich’s family, Hannity pledged to stop talking about the DNC staffer, though he’s mentioned the conspiracy theory at least once more since then.
  • SneakDZA
    SneakDZA Members Posts: 11,223 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2017
    This is gonna backfire because Assange could easily just show that Rich was his source. They tryin to bury this story but only will bring more attention to it.

    Despite the story being discredited and Fox news even issuing a retraction... you still believe it?

    That's a special kinda stupid.

    PS - Why would Assange be protecting the identity of a dead source? Don't try to answer that. There's no good answer.

    PPS - If you're trying to bury a story why would you make it front page news months later? Don't try to answer that one either.
  • stringer bell
    stringer bell Members Posts: 26,212 ✭✭✭✭✭
    https://www.mediaite.com/tv/rod-wheeler-speaks-out-on-explosive-seth-rich-lawsuit-fox-news-report-damaged-my-credibility/
    Rod Wheeler on Explosive Seth Rich Claim: Fox News Report ‘Damaged My Credibility’

    Today brought the explosive allegations made in a lawsuit by Fox News contributor and private investigator Rod Wheeler that a Fox News reporter and a pro-Trump backer worked together to create a since-retracted report that claimed that slain DNC staffer Seth Rich had been murdered due to his connections to WikiLeaks. Furthermore, the suit alleges that President Trump himself supervised the whole thing to help distract from the Russia probe.

    With Fox News having already denied much of what Wheeler is alleging in his suit, the PI showed up on MSNBC this evening to provide his side of things. Accompanied by his attorney, Wheeler wanted it to be known that while he was finding some suspicious things while looking into Rich’s murder, he never found that he’d been in contact with WikiLeaks, something that was attributed to him in the Fox News report.

    “As a result of those quotes and [Fox News reporter Malia Zimmerman‘s] story, it’s damaged my credibility and my integrity,” Wheeler told host Ari Melber.

    Wheeler further discussed Trump supporter Ed Butowsky — who was the man who paid him to do the investigation — reaching out to the White House and getting direction from the administration, indicating that the president was very interested in the story and wanted it published right away.

    Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer admitted to meeting with Butowsky and Wheeler about the findings of the Fox News story on Rich but denied that there was any coordination with Trump on the report.







  • stringer bell
    stringer bell Members Posts: 26,212 ✭✭✭✭✭
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ed-butowsky-responds-lawsuit-fox-news-seth-rich
    GOPer Accused Of Pushing Seth Rich Conspiracy At Fox: Lawsuit Is ‘Nonsense’

    Ed Butowsky, a Republican donor and Fox News commentator accused in a new lawsuit of pushing a conspiracy theory about a murdered DNC staffer at Fox News, on Tuesday night told CNN that the lawsuit is “full of nonsense.”

    Butowsky was named in lawsuit filed Tuesday by Rod Wheeler, a former police detective and Fox News contributor, who alleged he was roped into an effort to publish a story claiming that the DNC staffer, Seth Rich, had been in contact with Wikileaks. The story was quickly retracted from the Fox News website, and Wheeler now alleges that his quotes in the story were made up by a Fox News reporter.

    Wheeler, who was hired by Butowsky and the Rich family to investigate Rich’s murder, revealed in the lawsuit that he and Butowksy met with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer about their findings, which Spicer confirmed. Wheeler also alleged that Butwosky said he had been in contact with the White House and President Donald Trump about the article, allegedly telling Wheeler that Trump wanted the article published.

    Throughout his interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo Tuesday night, Butowsky pushed back against several of Wheeler’s claims, sometimes giving confusing and convoluted answers. He also tried to discredit Wheeler, suggesting that he was filing the lawsuit because he is “dead broke.”

    He said that the claims that Trump knew about the article were “not true.”

    “I never talked to anybody at the White House,” Butowsky told CNN. “I’ve never talked to President Trump in my life. And President Trump nor the White house has anything to do with any of this.”

    Butowsky said that a voicemail cited by Wheeler in the lawsuit in which he mentions to Wheeler that their work has the White House’s attention was actually about another D.C. detective who wanted whistleblower status in order to talk freely to Wheeler.

    The lawsuit also cites a text message from Butowsky to Wheeler, in which Butowsky claims that Trump read the article and wanted it published quickly. Butowsky said this was “tongue-in-cheek.”

    Butowsky told CNN’s Chris Cuomo that when he met with Spicer about his findings, he did not tell the press secretary the purpose of the meeting beforehand. Butowsky told CNN that he told Spicer about claims he says reporter Seymour Hersh made about the FBI having a copy of Rich’s hard drive. (Hersh told NPR that he hears “gossip” and suggested Butowsky “took two and two and made 45 out of it.”)

    Butowsky told CNN that Spicer “had no interest at all” in learning more about their investigation into Rich’s death and that they only talked about it for a minute before engaging in small talk.

    Despite the fact that Fox News retracted its story reporting that Rich was in contact with Wikileaks, Butwosky told CNN, “I don’t believe there’s anything in that story that isn’t accurate.” He said he believes it was retracted because Wheeler complained that he was misquoted. Butowsky, however, said that Wheeler was quoted accurately.
  • fortyacres
    fortyacres Members, Moderators Posts: 4,480 Regulator
    This is gonna backfire because Assange could easily just show that Rich was his source. They tryin to bury this story but only will bring more attention to it.

    Assange a Trump/Putin supporter ? him
  • ThaNubianGod
    ThaNubianGod Members Posts: 1,862 ✭✭✭✭✭
    fortyacres wrote: »
    This is gonna backfire because Assange could easily just show that Rich was his source. They tryin to bury this story but only will bring more attention to it.

    Assange a Trump/Putin supporter ? him

    Assange is a Trump/Putin supporter? So you buy whatever ? the powers that be tell you now? Dude has done nothing but tell the truth for the last 10 years.

    Assange exposed Debbie Wassermann(who's still in ? ? now that Awan was revealed) and the DNC colluding against Bernie and his supporters. You know, Bernie who was beating Trump by 10+ points and wouldn't have lost blue collar states. The Dem establishment was cool with sabotaging Bernie because they only support globalist candidates who keep the money flowing. The DNC leaks only helped Trump because the Democrats didn't replace Hillary. The same people who kept Pelosi in over Ellison.

    Its funny how people know the system works against us..but then buys into its lies. Hell in 2008 Hillary got exposed against Obama, but a few endorsements and she had many 8 years later saying "I with her". Whole thing is pathetic. ? is a modern-day Cersei Lannister.

  • VIBE
    VIBE Members Posts: 54,384 ✭✭✭✭✭
    This sounds like a pretty solid case.

    Can't wait to watch their world burn when it all hits.
  • SneakDZA
    SneakDZA Members Posts: 11,223 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2017
    fortyacres wrote: »
    This is gonna backfire because Assange could easily just show that Rich was his source. They tryin to bury this story but only will bring more attention to it.

    Assange a Trump/Putin supporter ? him

    Assange is a Trump/Putin supporter? So you buy whatever ? the powers that be tell you now? Dude has done nothing but tell the truth for the last 10 years.

    Assange exposed Debbie Wassermann(who's still in ? ? now that Awan was revealed) and the DNC colluding against Bernie and his supporters. You know, Bernie who was beating Trump by 10+ points and wouldn't have lost blue collar states. The Dem establishment was cool with sabotaging Bernie because they only support globalist candidates who keep the money flowing. The DNC leaks only helped Trump because the Democrats didn't replace Hillary. The same people who kept Pelosi in over Ellison.

    Its funny how people know the system works against us..but then buys into its lies. Hell in 2008 Hillary got exposed against Obama, but a few endorsements and she had many 8 years later saying "I with her". Whole thing is pathetic. ? is a modern-day Cersei Lannister.

    Trump/Putin are literally "the powers that be" you obtuse ? .
  • fortyacres
    fortyacres Members, Moderators Posts: 4,480 Regulator
    fortyacres wrote: »
    This is gonna backfire because Assange could easily just show that Rich was his source. They tryin to bury this story but only will bring more attention to it.

    Assange a Trump/Putin supporter ? him

    Assange is a Trump/Putin supporter? So you buy whatever ? the powers that be tell you now? Dude has done nothing but tell the truth for the last 10 years.

    Assange exposed Debbie Wassermann(who's still in ? ? now that Awan was revealed) and the DNC colluding against Bernie and his supporters. You know, Bernie who was beating Trump by 10+ points and wouldn't have lost blue collar states. The Dem establishment was cool with sabotaging Bernie because they only support globalist candidates who keep the money flowing. The DNC leaks only helped Trump because the Democrats didn't replace Hillary. The same people who kept Pelosi in over Ellison.

    Its funny how people know the system works against us..but then buys into its lies. Hell in 2008 Hillary got exposed against Obama, but a few endorsements and she had many 8 years later saying "I with her". Whole thing is pathetic. ? is a modern-day Cersei Lannister.

    You are dumber than a bag of rocks, this is bigger than your crackpot conspiracies about HIllary Clinton.