Burchett Asks Kash Patel to Release FBI Records on Seth Rich Killing

Republican Rep. Tim Burchett (TN-02) is asking FBI Director Kash Patel to release the bureau’s records connected to the 2016 death of Seth Rich, the Democratic National Committee staffer who was shot and killed in Washington, D.C.

Burchett posted the letter on X on Tuesday.

I have called for @FBIDirectorKash to release all records related to the death of Seth Rich. pic.twitter.com/8Lt7Vm10Mk
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) July 7, 2026

The letter is addressed to Patel and dated July 7, 2026. Burchett asks for “the release of all Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records related to the death of Seth Rich.”

Rich was 27 when he was killed in 2016. Burchett’s letter says Rich’s “killer remains unidentified” and that the circumstances of his death “are questionable.” The letter also notes that the case was described as a botched robbery handled by local law enforcement.

Burchett does not accuse anyone of killing Rich. He does not claim the FBI solved the case. The request is for records.

Burchett wrote that the FBI initially told the public it was not investigating Rich's death, then later acknowledged having material related to Rich. The letter specifically refers to Rich's work laptop and a forensic image of his personal laptop. The letter states:

Initially, the FBI informed the public it was not investigating Mr. Rich's death, which was described as a botched robbery handled by local law enforcement. The FBI later acknowledged possessing evidence related to Rich, including his work laptop and a forensic image of his personal laptop, but resisted releasing these materials for years.

Attorney Ty Clevenger, a Texas lawyer who has spent years pursuing FBI and Justice Department records tied to Rich through Freedom of Information Act litigation, recently filed a June 15 motion asking the court to order the FBI to produce additional records and metadata related to Rich’s electronic devices. In the alternative, he asked for a special master to oversee the review and production of those records.

Clevenger also claimed that a government attorney told him “several hundred pages” of Rich-related records had been located in a secure room. That claim has not been publicly confirmed by the FBI.

Burchett’s letter references that newer dispute carefully. He wrote that “recent reports suggest” the FBI “may have found” previously undisclosed files related to Rich in “burn bags,” possibly located in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility at the J. Edgar Hoover Building.

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A separate report said Patel’s team found multiple burn bags containing sensitive government documents in a previously undisclosed secure room at FBI headquarters. That report dealt with documents connected to the Trump-Russia probe and said Patel turned records over to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley.

That report did not establish that Rich-related records were inside those bags.

Burchett is asking Patel to release the records “as permitted by law.”

“Given the Administration’s commitment to transparency, I strongly urge the full release of these records, as permitted by law. Doing so would address longstanding questions and demonstrate the Administration’s continued support for upholding public trust.”

No one has been charged in Rich’s killing.

The letter puts the next question to the FBI: What records does the bureau have, and what can be released?

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