The family of murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich on Tuesday strongly rejected reports claiming he had been in contact with WikiLeaks. 
 
 "As we've seen through the past year of unsubstantiated claims, we see no facts, we have seen no evidence, we have been approached with no emails and only learned about this when contacted by the press," spokesperson Brad Bauman told BuzzFeed News in an emailed statement. 
 
 
 
 Fox 5 in Washington, DC, first reported last night that the "family's private investigator" had found "tangible evidence" on Rich's laptop showing he was in touch with WikiLeaks before he died last summer. Then this morning, Fox News reported that Rich "had leaked thousands of internal emails to WikiLeaks," citing a "federal investigator." 
 
 
 
 Yet Rich's family said in its statement that the private investigator was "paid for by a third party" and under his contract had been "barred from speaking to press" without explicit authorization from the family. And the investigator told CNN that he was only repeating the Fox News story — he didn't personally have evidence showing communication with WikiLeaks. 
 
 "I only got that [information] from the reporter at Fox News," Wheeler told CNN. 
 
 Rich, 27, was shot and killed early one morning in Washington in July of last year. He had been working on a DNC project trying to make it easier for people to find where to vote on Election Day. 
 
 WikiLeaks published thousands of hacked DNC emails soon after Rich's death, and conspiracy theories began to swirl after the organization offered a $20,000 reward for help solving his case. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange then raised further eyebrows when he spoke of Rich's death, saying, "Our whistleblowers go to significant efforts to get us material." 
 
 WikiLeaks backed off the claim, saying his statement "should not be taken to imply that Seth Rich was a source for WikiLeaks," nor that his death was connected to the leaked emails. 
 
 Police said in response that they believe there is no connection between his death and "his employment at the DNC." Since that time, Rich's family have also said publicly that they believe his death wasn't connected. 
 
 But the story picked up again this week with the two reports by Fox outlets. Both stories quoted Rod Wheeler, a former homicide detective at Washington's Metropolitan Police Department, saying he had learned that there were emails between Rich and WikiLeaks before his death. 
 
 Wheeler is a Fox News contributor. In April he tweeted an apparent picture of himself at the White House. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department said that Wheeler had been "dismissed from the agency" after working there from 1990 to 1995. 
 
 Both reports said that Rich's family had hired Wheeler as a private investigator — which Rich's family responded to in its statement by noting he had been paid by a third party, and had not been authorized to speak with the press. 
 
 The Fox 5 story from last night quoted Wheeler as saying that a local police officer in Washington had "looked me straight in the eye" and told him they had been ordered to "stand down" on Rich's case. Fox added an update this morning that local police had denied that claim. 
 
 This morning's Fox News story added a further source, an unnamed "federal investigator" who said, “I have seen and read the emails between Seth Rich and WikiLeaks.” The investigator said that the FBI is in possession of the emails. 
 
 Rich family spokesman Brad Bauman, a Democratic political consultant by trade, told BuzzFeed News that the Wikileaks story just doesn't add up. Rich's job at the DNC had nothing to do with IT or internal cybersecurity, so the hack wouldn't have been in his domain. “He wouldn’t have had access to any of those emails," Bauman said. 
 
 Bauman said that evidence tying Rich to Wikileaks has been “nothing but hearsay or the insane rantings of conspiracy theorists.” He accused people pushing the idea of a "political agenda that is wholly un-American" who had denied a grieving family "the chance to mourn." 
 
 "Frankly," Bauman said, "I believe there’s a special place in hell for the folks who are pushing the story.” 
 
 BuzzFeed News reporter Jason Leopold contributed reporting. ||||| The family of the Democratic National Committee staffer who was gunned down on July 10 on a Washington, D.C., blasted reports that he was a source of emails leaked to WikiLeaks. 
 
 Rod Wheeler, a retired Washington homicide detective and Fox News contributor investigating the case on behalf of the Rich family, made the WikiLeaks claim, which was corroborated by a federal investigator who spoke to Fox News. 
 
 “My investigation up to this point shows there was some degree of email exchange between Seth Rich and WikiLeaks.” - Rod Wheeler, former DC homicide investigator 
 
 Wheeler made his comments on the possible Rich-Wikileaks connection in a story first reported Monday night by Fox 5 DC. 
 
 In an appearance on Fox News' "Hannity" Tuesday night, Wheeler said a "federal investigator that was involved on the inside of the case" saw Rich's computer and the case file. 
 
 Wheeler told host Sean Hannity the investigator "came across [as] very credible. When you look at that, with the totality of everything else that I found in this case, it’s very consistent for a person with my experience to begin to think, 'Well, perhaps there were some email communication between Seth and Wikileaks.'" 
 
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 But a spokesman for Rich's family on Tuesday said Wheeler was not authorized to speak for the family and called assertions Seth Rich sent emails to WikiLeaks "unsubstantiated." Brad Bauman said even if purported emails were to surface, it would not necessarily mean Rich had helped WikiLeaks. 
 
 "Even if tomorrow, an email was found, it is not a high enough bar of evidence to prove any interactions as emails can be altered and we've seen that those interested in pushing conspiracies will stop at nothing to do so," Bauman said. "We are a family who is committed to facts, not fake evidence that surfaces every few months to fill the void and distract law enforcement and the general public from finding Seth's murderers." 
 
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 Although Bauman said Wheeler was paid by a third party, the family is named as clients of Wheeler's Capitol Investigations on a contract signed by Rich's father, Joel Rich. 
 
 The family has been sensitive to speculation that Rich could have leaked emails damaging to the DNC since he was murdered during the height of the presidential campaign in a case that remains unsolved. Wheeler and the federal investigator insist that there is evidence to back their claims. 
 
 An FBI forensic report of Rich's computer -- generated within 96 hours after Rich's murder -- showed he made contact with WikiLeaks through Gavin MacFadyen, a now-deceased American investigative reporter, documentary filmmaker, and director of WikiLeaks who was living in London at the time, the federal source told Fox News. 
 
 “I have seen and read the emails between Seth Rich and WikiLeaks,” the federal investigator told Fox News, confirming the MacFadyen connection. He said the emails are in possession of the FBI, while the stalled case is in the hands of the Washington Police Department. 
 
 The revelation is consistent with the findings of Wheeler, whose private investigation firm was hired by a third party on behalf of Rich’s family to probe the case. 
 
 “My investigation up to this point shows there was some degree of email exchange between Seth Rich and WikiLeaks,” Wheeler said. “I do believe that the answers to who murdered Seth Rich sits on his computer on a shelf at the DC police or FBI headquarters.” 
 
 The federal investigator, who requested anonymity, said 44,053 emails and 17,761 attachments between Democratic National Committee leaders, spanning from January 2015 through late May 2016, were transferred from Rich to MacFadyen before May 21. 
 
 On July 22, just 12 days after Rich was killed, WikiLeaks published internal DNC emails that appeared to show top party officials conspired to stop Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont from becoming the party’s presidential nominee. That controversy resulted in Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigning as DNC chairperson. 
 
 WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange has stopped short of identifying Rich as the source of the emails, but has taken a keen interest in the case, and has not denied working with Rich. 
 
 “WikiLeaks has decided to issue a US$20k reward for information leading to conviction for the murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich,” the organization announced. 
 
 Assange has not returned a series of recent emails from Fox News about Rich. MacFadyen, who was considered a mentor by Assange, died of lung cancer on Oct. 22 at age 76. 
 
 Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department has no suspects and no substantial leads as to who the killer or killers may be, sources close to the investigation said. Metropolitan Police, including the police chief, have refused to discuss the case, despite requests from Fox News dating back 10 months. 
 
 The department released a statement on the case saying it remains an active investigation and that detectives are working with Rich's family. 
 
 "If there are any individuals who feel they have information, we urge them to call us at (202) 727-9099 or text us at 50411," read the statement. "The department is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information on this case that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible." 
 
 The FBI’s national office declined to comment, but sources said the bureau provided cyber expertise to examine Rich’s computer. 
 
 D.C. police have announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of Rich’s killer. Republican lobbyist Jack Burkman has offered a separate $130,000 reward. 
 
 Malia Zimmerman is an award-winning investigative reporter focusing on crime, homeland security, illegal immigration crime, terrorism and political corruption. Follow her on twitter at @MaliaMZimmerman ||||| The family of slain Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Fox News, one of the network's reporters, and a wealthy Texas businessman over their roles in the publication of a baseless conspiracy theory about Rich's 2016 death. 
 
 The lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks compensation for "mental anguish and emotional distress, emotional pain and suffering, and any other physical and mental injuries." 
 
 "No parent should ever have to live through what we have been forced to endure," Joel and Mary Rich said in statement Tuesday night. "The pain and anguish that comes from seeing your murdered son's life and legacy treated as a mere political football is beyond comprehension." 
 
 The lawsuit said that Malia Zimmerman, the Fox News reporter named in the lawsuit, worked with Ed Butowsky, the wealthy businessman, to develop a "sham" story about Rich's death that Fox News published online in May 2017 and referenced on-air multiple times. 
 
 ABC News first reported on the Rich family's lawsuit. 
 
 Related: The chaos behind the scenes of Fox News' now-retracted Seth Rich story 
 
 Zimmerman's story said Rod Wheeler, a private investigator and Fox News contributor hired by Butowsky to look into Rich's death, had learned that Wikileaks had been in contact with Rich prior to his death. The story suggested without real evidence that Rich had leaked a trove of DNC emails to Wikileaks and further suggested that his death, which police suspect was a botched robbery, was retribution for the supposed leak. 
 
 Within hours, however, the Fox News story fell apart when Wheeler, who is now suing Fox News over the story, told CNN he had no evidence to suggest Rich had contacted Wikileaks before his death. 
 
 But Fox News left the story up on its website for days and guests continued to mention the conspiracy theory on its air. The network ultimately retracted the story seven days after it was published. 
 
 The Rich family lawsuit said the actions taken by the defendants "were so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and are atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community." 
 
 Since Fox News published its baseless story, the Rich family has been open about the pain it has inflicted upon them. Aaron Rich, the brother of Seth Rich, sent a letter to Hannity days after Fox News published its story, telling him that continuing to cover the story would "cause us additional pain, suffering and sorrow." Joel Rich later told NPR that the publication of Fox News' story was "almost as bad for us as when we first learned of Seth's death." 
 
 To that end, Leonard A. Gail, the attorney representing the Rich family, said in a statement that "Joel and Mary Rich have brought this case" to hold the defendants "accountable for their reprehensible actions." 
 
 "Whether motivated by party politics, ratings, corporate profit, or personal gain, we hope to help prevent this kind of malicious and reckless behavior in the future so that others can be spared the hell the Riches have had to endure," he said. 
 
 Related: Fox News asks court to dismiss lawsuit filed over Seth Rich story 
 
 Neither a Fox News spokesperson nor Zimmerman immediately responded to a request for comment. The network said at the time it retracted its story that it would carry out an investigation and "provide updates as warranted." But so far, Fox News has announced no disciplinary action or updates related to the publication of its story. 
 
 Butowsky told CNN Tuesday night that he did not "understand this lawsuit at all." 
 
 "This whole thing has caused unbelievable damage to my life and my family," he said. "And the idea that somebody has capitalized is ridiculous. It just doesn't make any sense to me."
– The family of a murdered DNC staffer is fighting back against a private investigator's claims he was in contact with WikiLeaks prior to his death and may have been murdered in connection to his work at the DNC. Seth Rich, 27, was shot and killed last July during what police say appears to have been an attempted robbery. After Rich's death, WikiLeaks offered a $20,000 reward for help in solving his murder, and Julian Assange appeared to imply Rich had been passing material on to them, BuzzFeed reports. Now, according to FOX 5, a PI named Rod Wheeler says there's evidence on Rich's laptop that shows he was in contact with WikiLeaks. Wheeler says the police were "told to stand down on this case" in a cover-up he believes stems from the DNC and DC mayor's office. But Rich's family—who FOX 5 states hired Wheeler—says the PI, a Fox News contributor, is not authorized to speak for them, Fox News reports. A family spokesperson says Wheeler was hired by a "third party." Fox News states an unnamed federal investigator has backed up Wheeler's claims, adding he's read the emails between Rich and WikiLeaks and Rich forwarded more than 44,000 DNC emails to WikiLeaks. The family spokesperson says there's "no facts" and "no evidence" to support these "unsubstantiated" claims. The family says any reports to the contrary are baseless conspiracy theories. Rich's murder remains unsolved.