In recent months, a conspiracy surrounding the death of former Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich has made the rounds in far right-wing media circles. Following a bombshell lawsuit linking Donald Trump back to the conspiracy in question, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was forced to speak out.

Sanders on Rich conspiracy

On July 10, 2016, Democratic National Committee staff member Seth Rich was killed by gun fire in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Police have noted that the most likely reasoning behind the killing was due to a random robbery which had become prevalent in the neighborhood at that time.

Despite this, the case is still under investigation by the local police, leading to several right-wing websites to claim that Rich's death was the result of his alleged ties to WikiLeaks. Earlier this summer, Fox News host Sean Hannity pushed the story on a nightly basis on his program "Hannity," prompting heavy backlash due to the lack of credible evidence to back up the conspiracy. Fox News was then forced to retract the story after a cease and desist letter was sent by the Rich family. On Tuesday morning, NPR reported that a lawsuit had been filed claiming that the White House and Fox News worked together to push the false story about Rich. As reported by CBS News on August 1, Sarah Huckabee Sanders did her best to deflect.

On Tuesday afternoon. Sarah Huckabee Sanders held a press briefing at the White House and as expected, was pressed on the aforementioned conspiracy theory about Seth Rich, and the lawsuit that has been filed in response.

"The president had no knowledge of the story and it is completely untrue that there was White House involvement," Sanders said. "I'd refer you to the actual parties involved which aren't the White House," she concluded.

While Sarah Huckabee Sanders addressed the lawsuit claiming Donald Trump worked with Fox News to push the conspiracy around Seth Rich and his death, the president has yet to personally comment on the situation.

Trump is usually active on social media and often denies allegations against him on Twitter, but has not yet offered his thoughts via a tweet or other actions.

Moving forward

After just over seven months in the White House, Donald Trump is struggling to keep himself out of scandals and controversy as his approval rating continues to drop with each passing poll. According to the most recent round of surveys, Trump's standing with the American people is down to just 35 percent.
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