Why Does Ad About Seth Rich Murder Include Russian Subtitles?

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By Nathan Guttman September 25, 2017

A new TV ad seeking information about the murder of Democratic staffer Seth Rich includes Russian subtitles — a clear hint that its funders believe the slaying could be linked to conspiracy theories about the hacking of the Democratic National Committee.

The 30-second ad, produced by Republican lobbyist Jack Burkman, is set to air in the Washington D.C. area, but it is aiming for a broader audience: Russian speakers who may know something about the case. The video will run with Russian language subtitles, reinforcing the notion put forward by Burkman and others that Rich’s murder is somehow tied to Russia and to his work at the DNC.

“If there’s a Russia link, someone in D.C. or certainly from the Russian community in the U.S. knows something about the murder,” Burkman said in a statement. “That information may help solve the murder. And we hope this commercial reaches them.”

Seth Rich’s family has rejected the idea that his murder was anything more than a botched late-night robbery and has spoken out against Burkman and what they see as his promotion of conspiracy theories regarding the murder.

Right wing conspiracy theorists believe that Rich’s murder could be related to the Russian hacking and might somehow exonerate President Trump of any involvement in the scandal.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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