>>/114174/ seth rich part 2 The FBI now wants the court to agree to keep the new records shielded from Brian Huddleston, a Texas resident who filed a lawsuit against the bureau over its ignoring a Freedom of Information request for records on Rich. Bureau officials initially claimed in sworn statements that the FBI had searched for records on Rich but did not locate any. In 2020, for the first time, the FBI admitted it had files from a computer belonging to Rich. Some of those files were then released to Huddleston and made public, including documents that appear to suggest that someone could have paid for his death. The FBI has said it has images from a second computer owned by Rich, which the bureau described as Rich’s personal laptop. A federal judge in September ordered the bureau to hand the images over to Huddleston, finding that the bureau improperly withheld them. Epoch Times Photo Epoch Times Photo Seth Rich is pictured on a poster created by police officials to urge people with information about his murder to come forward. (Metropolitan Police Department) FBI Argues Computer ‘Not an Actual Record’ The FBI has repeatedly sought, and obtained, delays to the production order and has still not produced the images. The bureau had not explained whether it ever took possession of Rich’s personal laptop. A Department of Justice lawyer said at one point that the bureau was “working on getting the files from Seth Rich’s personal laptop into a format to be reviewed.” Seidel said in the new declaration that the FBI “does not have, nor has it ever had, physical possession of the actual personal laptop.” The work laptop was conveyed to the FBI from a non-governmental third party, the FBI has said. The bureau is fighting against the release of the images of Rich’s personal laptop and the work laptop, which it says is being held in an FBI evidence room. Under the Freedom of Information Act, Seidel asserted that the computer “is not an actual record” but is “physical object/evidence” that is not subject to the law. The law states that every U.S. agency shall make available “agency records.” But factors used to determine whether a record meets the definition shows that the computer is not, Seidel said. One factor is the extent to which personnel at the agency have read or relied upon the document, and the FBI has “found no indication” that the FBI relied on the content of the work computer, he added. U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant, the Obama appointee who is overseeing the case, should order the computer and its associated records, including the newly discovered forensic report, shielded from Huddleston, U.S. lawyers said. Ty Clevenger, the lawyer representing Huddleston, told The Epoch Times that he didn’t see a distinction between the physical work computer and the images from both computers. He said he would urge the judge to order the release of information from both computers. Correction: A previous version of this article inaccurately stated which claims Butowsky retracted. He backed away from claims that Aaron Rich was involved in the alleged transfer of DNC documents to WikiLeaks. The Epoch Times regrets the error.