Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom has released a statement claiming knowledge of connections between murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich and WikiLeaks.
Kim Dotcom released a statement via his website after telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity via Twitter on Saturday that he knew Seth Rich was WikiLeaks’ source for thousands of leaked DNC emails.
Dotcom claims he got in touch with Rich several years ago:
I know that Seth Rich was involved in the DNC leak.
I know this because in late 2014 a person contacted me about helping me to start a branch of the Internet Party in the United States. He called himself Panda. I now know that Panda was Seth Rich.
Panda advised me that he was working on voter analytics tools and other technologies that the Internet Party may find helpful.
I communicated with Panda on a number of topics including corruption and the influence of corporate money in politics.
He wanted to change that from the inside.
Dotcom claims in the statement that his conversations with Seth Rich are what led to his comment in 2015 that Julian Assange would be “Hillary’s worst nightmare in 2016.” He added in the same interview, “I’m aware of some of the things that are going to be roadblocks for her.”
As part of the statement, Dotcom explains that he believes he should make a complete statement to U.S. authorities on his connections with Rich. He said his lawyers will work with the American government on creating a plan to do so, specifically naming former FBI director Robert Mueller, who has been named special counsel by the Justice Department to head the investigation into supposed connections between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Dotcom is currently targeted for extradition to the United States to face criminal charges related to his file-sharing website Megaupload, which authorities shut down in 2012.
In response to Dotcom’s claims, Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning said, “If, as Kim Dotcom claims, murdered DNC employee Seth Rich was the source of the DNC leaks, then it is incumbent upon Special Counsel Mueller to shift the focus of his investigation away from Russia and all of the false innuendo about that country’s influence over our national elections.”
On Tuesday, Fox News issued a retraction for their report that Rich “leaked thousands of internal emails to WikiLeaks” and removed the story from their website.
The text of the statement in full reads:
#SethRich was a hero
I know that Setch Rich was involved in the DNC leak.I know this because in late 2014 a person contacted me about helping me to start a branch of the Internet Party in the United States. He called himself Panda. I now know that Panda was Seth Rich.
Panda advised me that he was working on voter analytics tools and other technologies that the Internet Party may find helpful.
I communicated with Panda on a number of topics including corruption and the influence of corporate money in politics.
“He wanted to change that from the inside.”
I was referring to what I knew when I did an interview with Bloomberg in New Zealand in May 2015. In that interview I hinted that Julian Assange and Wikileaks would release information about Hillary Clinton in the upcoming election.
The Rich family has reached out to me to ask that I be sensitive to their loss in my public comments. That request is entirely reasonable.
I have consulted with my lawyers. I accept that my full statement should be provided to the authorities and I am prepared to do that so that there can be a full investigation. My lawyers will speak with the authorities regarding the proper process.
If my evidence is required to be given in the United States I would be prepared to do so if appropriate arrangements are made. I would need a guarantee from Special Counsel Mueller, on behalf of the United States, of safe passage from New Zealand to the United States and back. In the coming days we will be communicating with the appropriate authorities to make the necessary arrangements. In the meantime, I will make no further comment.
Colin Madine is a contributor and editor at Breitbart News and can be reached at cmadine@breitbart.com
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