FBI Under Fire for Withholding Seth Rich Documents

FBI’s Ongoing Refusal to Release Seth Rich Documents
The Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to withhold records related to Seth Rich, the Democratic National Committee staffer murdered in Washington, D.C., in July 2016 under mysterious circumstances. Attorney Ty Clevenger has been fighting since 2018 to obtain these documents through Freedom of Information Act requests, facing consistent resistance from the federal agency.
Rich’s murder occurred shortly before WikiLeaks released emails from the Clinton campaign and the DNC, fueling speculation about potential connections. Instead of releasing the requested records, the FBI has offered only to provide a Vaughn index—a document that lists withheld files and the justifications for their concealment.
The FBI initially denied possessing Seth Rich’s laptop until Clevenger’s legal efforts forced them to admit otherwise. This reversal of position has raised significant questions about the agency’s transparency and truthfulness in handling FOIA requests related to this high-profile case.
FBI Refuses To Turn Over Seth Rich Murder Information
The FBI has once again blocked the release of records tied to the 2016 murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich, defying attorney Ty Clevenger’s FOIA request.
Clevenger, who has fought for years to uncover these documents, announced… pic.twitter.com/9oJshbLD99
— MAGA Resource (@MAGAResource) March 4, 2025
The Legal Battle for Transparency
Clevenger formally demanded the release of Seth Rich’s documents in February 2024, continuing a legal pursuit that began years earlier. His case, officially titled “Clevenger v. U.S. Department of Justice et al.,” was initially filed in the Eastern District of New York on March 14, 2018, and was presided over by Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom.
The legal journey has been fraught with obstacles, including the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys initially refusing to search for records without proof of Rich’s death. Although that particular denial was reversed on administrative appeal, the FBI continued to claim no records were found—a position later proven false when they admitted to having Rich’s laptop.
Clevenger’s investigation further uncovered that the FBI improperly withheld pages from the CrowdStrike report on the alleged 2016 DNC hack. This discovery adds another layer to concerns about the agency’s handling of information related to both the DNC breach and Seth Rich.
You might want to sit down for this one…
According to Attorney @Ty_Clevenger, the DOJ & FBI is NOT going to allow the Seth Rich documents to be released to the public on March 10th, 2025 which is the date they were supposed to be unsealed.
It is unclear whether or not… pic.twitter.com/G0FNqh8I3g
— The Patriot Voice (@TPV_John) March 4, 2025
Potential Consequences and Political Attention
The ongoing secrecy surrounding the Seth Rich case may soon attract elevated political attention, with Clevenger suggesting that figures like Kash Patel and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi could become involved. Patel would bring significant expertise and public attention to the case.
If high-profile political figures do engage with this issue, the FBI’s FOIA office could face substantial consequences for their handling of these records. The case highlights the tension between government claims of necessary secrecy and the public’s right to information, particularly in cases that intersect with matters of significant public interest.
Although a clerk’s judgment was entered on April 6, 2020, granting the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, Clevenger has remained committed to pursuing transparency. His persistence exemplifies the ongoing struggle between citizens seeking government accountability and federal agencies claiming exemptions from disclosure requirements.