Indictment Undercuts Assange on Source of Hacked Emails
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"The indictment also puts to rest a conspiracy theory, carefully nurtured by Assange and his supporters, that slain DNC staffer Seth Rich was at the origin of the leaks.
Rich died in July 2016 in what police in the District of Columbia say was a botched robbery. But the tragedy became fodder for conspiracy theorists who pushed the unfounded allegation that Rich, 27, had been providing information to the hackers and was killed for it.
It was Assange who first floated the idea into the mainstream, bringing up Rich’s case in an interview with Dutch television the following month.
“What are you suggesting?” the startled anchor asked him.
“I’m suggesting that our sources take risks and they become concerned to see things occurring like that,” Assange answered.
The anchor pressed Assange repeatedly, eventually saying: “It’s quite something to suggest a murder. That’s basically what you’re doing.”
Over the next few months, WikiLeaks would continue to amplify the conspiracy theory — all while stopping short of endorsing it outright. During all this time, the indictment alleges, WikiLeaks knew full well that Guccifer 2.0 was its source, cajoling the account’s operators to hand it more data and ordering rival journalists to steer clear."
https://www.voanews.com/a/indictment-assange-source-of-hacked-emails/4483335.html
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