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A federal judge in Manhattan dismissed a lawsuit Thursday that was brought against Fox News by the parents of Seth Rich, the young Democratic aide whose unsolved murder was turned into fodder for a lingering right-wing conspiracy theory.
In his dismissal of the lawsuit, Judge George B. Daniels said he sympathized with Mr. Rich’s parents, but added that they had not been personally defamed by the story — despite the fact that it included “false statements or misrepresentations.”
The story, published on the Fox News website on May 16, 2017, implied that Mr. Rich’s death on the streets on Washington in July 2016 had occurred in retaliation for the (DNC) leaks, even though no evidence supported that conclusion.
Within a week, Fox News retracted the story, saying that it had not met its standards, but the conspiracy theory has persisted, fueled by prominent conservatives like Newt Gingrich, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones.
“It is understandable that plaintiffs might feel that their grief and personal loss were taken advantage of, and that the tragic death of their son was exploited for political purposes,” Judge Daniels wrote. But he added that he had no choice but to dismiss the suit, because Fox’s conduct did not amount to the intentional infliction of emotional distress.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/nyregion/seth-rich-fox-news-lawsuits.html
A lawsuit filed in federal court claims a Fox News report about slain Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffer Seth Rich was reviewed prior to publication by President Trump and manipulated at the request of the White House.
“Fox News was working with the Trump administration to disseminate fake news in order to distract the public from Russia’s alleged attempts to influence our Country’s presidential election,” states the lawsuit filed by Rod Wheeler, a former Washington, D.C., homicide detective who investigated Rich’s death.
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/...volvement-in-retracted-fox-story-on-seth-rich
The evidence that Rich's death was politically motivated is still zero.
In his dismissal of the lawsuit, Judge George B. Daniels said he sympathized with Mr. Rich’s parents, but added that they had not been personally defamed by the story — despite the fact that it included “false statements or misrepresentations.”
The story, published on the Fox News website on May 16, 2017, implied that Mr. Rich’s death on the streets on Washington in July 2016 had occurred in retaliation for the (DNC) leaks, even though no evidence supported that conclusion.
Within a week, Fox News retracted the story, saying that it had not met its standards, but the conspiracy theory has persisted, fueled by prominent conservatives like Newt Gingrich, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones.
“It is understandable that plaintiffs might feel that their grief and personal loss were taken advantage of, and that the tragic death of their son was exploited for political purposes,” Judge Daniels wrote. But he added that he had no choice but to dismiss the suit, because Fox’s conduct did not amount to the intentional infliction of emotional distress.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/nyregion/seth-rich-fox-news-lawsuits.html
A lawsuit filed in federal court claims a Fox News report about slain Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffer Seth Rich was reviewed prior to publication by President Trump and manipulated at the request of the White House.
“Fox News was working with the Trump administration to disseminate fake news in order to distract the public from Russia’s alleged attempts to influence our Country’s presidential election,” states the lawsuit filed by Rod Wheeler, a former Washington, D.C., homicide detective who investigated Rich’s death.
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/...volvement-in-retracted-fox-story-on-seth-rich
The evidence that Rich's death was politically motivated is still zero.
