Topic: WorldNetDaily
There's another Seth Rich lawsuit: This time, family spokesman Brad Bauman is suing several people, including Texas businessman Ed Butowsky, for promoting the false idea that the Democratic National Committee "assigned" Bauman to be a spokesman for the Rich family or is otherwise involved in the situation.
Surprisingly, the Seth Rich conspiracy-mongers at WorldNetDaily are not named in the lawsuit, despite certainly hinting at that false narrative.
A May 2017 WND article by Alicia Powe used Butowsky's accusation as a hook to interview Bauman about it. His unequivocal denial is the lead, but Powe did what she could to undermine it by suggesting Bauman's political history may indicate a DNC link:
The spokesman for the family of murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich emphatically denies that the DNC is funding his salary.
Brad Bauman, a professional Democratic crisis public-relations consultant who has frequently criticized President Trump, abruptly ended a call with WND when asked about his connection to the DNC.
“That is patently 100 percent false!” he shouted, when asked if he was hired by the DNC, just before disconnecting the call.
Bauman refused to indicate who is paying his salary.
He is a consultant with Pastorum Group in Washington, D.C., a firm with progressive ties. In his role as a communications consultant, Bauman offers “strategic communications advice to Democratic candidates and labor unions,” his LinkedIn page states. The Pastorum Group Facebook page features many comments blasting Republicans and Trump, and members of the firm even protested President Trump’s 100th day in office.
From 2011 to 2014, Bauman was executive director of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, according to his LinkedIn page. He “worked with major progressive allies to craft and push progressive agenda items in Congress” and “founded Progressive Action PAC.”
Heavy.com reported Bauman has called for civil disobedience to push for an “independent investigation of Russia.”
[...]
Despite Bauman’s statement to the contrary, a Texas businessman who hired a private eye to look into Rich’s murder told WND that the DNC “assigned” Bauman to represent the Rich family.
Ed Butowsky, a wealth management and financial adviser, said the Rich family asked him for assistance in stopping top D.C. lobbyist Jack Burkman from representing himself to media as their spokesman.
[...]
“Joel Rich’s exact words were ‘the DNC assigned [Bauman] to us,'” Butowsky said.
Butowsky said has never spoken to Burkman, “but all I know is that Mr. Rich didn’t like him, that he wouldn’t listen and kept making up stuff.”
In an interview with WND on May 16, Bauman explained that he was put in touch with Rich’s family by two of Rich’s friends – both of whom worked for the DNC – and that the family requested help because they had more media requests than they could handle.
Another May 2017 article by Powe features a WikiLeaks tweet calling Bauman "a professional Democrat crisis PR consultant. A separate May 2017 article by Powe and fringe conspiracy-monger Liz Crokin, echoed WikiLeaks in calling Bauman a "Democratic political crisis consultant." A June 2017 article by Powe once again called Bauman "a Democratic political crisis consultant."
WND has miraculously avoided becoming a defendant in other lawsuits -- by Rich's parents and his brother -- aimed at shutting down those who push bogus conspiracy theories despite also trading in some of those very same conspiracy theories.
