Julian Assange implies murdered DNC staffer was killed for leaking emails

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange implied in an interview that a murdered Democratic National Committee staffer was the source of a trove of damaging emails the rogue website posted just days before the party’s convention.

Speaking to Dutch television program Nieuswsuur Tuesday after earlier announcing a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Seth Rich’s killer, Assange said the July 10 murder of Rich in Northwest Washington D.C. was an example of the risk leakers undertake. Washington D.C. police stated that Rich’s murder was a robbery gone wrong; though he still had his wallet and cell phone on his person when his body was found. Rich, 27 years old, was shot multiple times in NW Washington D.C. at around 4:20AM on July 10, 2016

“Whistle-blowers go to significant efforts to get us material and often very significant risks,” Assange said. “As a 27-year-old, works for the DNC, was shot in the back, murdered just a few weeks ago for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington.”

When the interviewer interjected that the murder may have been a robbery, Assange pushed back, and refused to comment on whether Rich was a Wikileaks source.

WikiLeaks US$20k reward for information leading to conviction for the murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich is in addition to the $25K already offered by the Washington D.C. police.