WASHINGTON – It's the mysterious slaying no one in the mainstream media or Congress wants to talk about, but nearly 50,000 Americans are now urging President Trump to press for an official investigation into the unsolved murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich.

Tens of thousands of Americans have signed a White House petition calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the case. The petition, which was created May 19, currently has almost half the signatures required – with a goal of 100,000 by June 18 – to receive a response from the White House.

WND asked 125 members of Congress to weigh in on the unsolved murder, but not a single U.S. representative has agreed to address the case.

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Rich, 27, worked as the voter expansion data director at the DNC for two years. He had just accepted a job with Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign before he was murdered in Washington, D.C., on July 10, 2016, near his apartment in an affluent neighborhood. He was shot twice in the back, and his wallet, credit cards, watch and phone were left in his possession. Still, the Metropolitan Police Department has described it as a "botched robbery."

Rich's story has been largely ignored by establishment media. Those who have called attention to the suspicious circumstances surrounding the murder have been branded "conspiracy theorists," including Fox News host Sean Hannity.

Sign the petition urging President Trump to press for an official investigation into the unsolved murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich.

The head of a private investigative team in Washington, D.C., insists that Metropolitan Police Department officials have been instructed by Mayor Muriel Bowser to withhold evidence pertaining to Rich’s case from the public and obstruct the investigation for political purposes.

"The police have shut down all full operations," Jack Burkman, head of the Profiling Project investigative team, told WND. "The police are not cooperating with us or anyone, which is sad. This has become a very systematic and deliberate effort by the D.C. police and the mayor to end the Seth Rich investigation."

In a statement to WND, the MPD disputed Burkman’s allegations, declaring the department will not "entertain conspiracy theories and does not engage with conspiracy theorists."

WND has launched a GoFundMe campaign to get to the bottom of the Seth Rich murder. You can personally help us get to the truth of whaty really happened.

As WND reported, a manager at Lou's City Bar, the last known location where Rich was seen before his murder, claims police never interviewed the bar's staff or requested evidence, such as footage from security cameras. And police never questioned Rich's DNC co-workers.

Burkman, who is offering a $105,000 reward for anyone with information about Rich’s murderer(s), revealed that a burglar broke into an FBI vehicle and stole weapons – including a .40 caliber Glock-22 handgun and a Rock River Arms Rifle – hours before Rich was shot multiple times just two miles north of the weapons theft. Burkman has filed a lawsuit suing the MPD for ballistics reports that would indicate whether the two crimes are in any way connected. The text of Burkman's lawsuit, filed May 31 in the District of Columbia Superior Court, can be read here.

The White House petition, titled "Appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate the murder of Seth Rich, the alleged WikiLeaks email leaker," states:

On July 10, 2016, Seth Rich was shot twice in the early morning as he walked back to his house in Washington D.C. Immediately after the crime, the death was called an armed robbery... but none of Seth Rich's belongings were taken from him. Rod Wheeler, a private investigator hired by the family, said that there was evidence Seth Rich had contacted WikiLeaks and that law enforcement were covering this up. MSM is not covering this murder, instead pushing it to the side, so it is now up to us. The facts do not add up, law enforcement stopped covering the crime, and now it is time for us to fight for justice. Seth Rich deserves this.

Left-leaning media outlets covering the investigation, including the New York Times, Washington Post and Huffington Post, have worked overtime to bury the story, eagerly slamming theories that Rich may have leaked DNC emails as "fake news" and "conspiracy." And members of Congress are apparently tight-lipped.

Sign the petition urging President Trump to press for an official investigation into the unsolved murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich.

As WND reported, only five lawmakers replied to WND's interview requests submitted to 125 members of Congress. All of those five declined to address the issue.

Two members of Congress have questioned the strange circumstances surrounding Rich's murder and the subsequent police investigation.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., said in an interview with OAN that he believes it's "suspicious" that law-enforcement authorities haven't more aggressively investigated Rich's murder.

"Whoever it could be, we need to look into it and verify," Rohrabacher said. "The fact that the young man's death has not been followed by an investigation that would even be in place for an ordinary murder is very suspicious to me."

In an interview with CNN, Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, called for a federal investigation of Rich's murder and any possible role he may have had in the leaking of DNC emails during the 2016 election. But Farenthold was attacked for speaking out.

"My fear is our constant focusing on the Russians is deflecting away from some other things that we need to be investigating," Farenthold told CNN. "There's still some question as to whether the intrusion of the DNC server was an insider job or whether or not it was the Russians."

WND has launched a GoFundMe campaign to get to the bottom of the Seth Rich murder. You can personally help us get to the truth of what really happened.

In a May 25 column about Rich's unsolved murder, WND Editor and CEO Joseph Farah warned: "The concern about a possible cover-up in this case is reaching epidemic proportions throughout the U.S. And the attitude of the so-called 'mainstream media' only compounds those concerns."

Farah asked: "Why are the media so stridently incurious? Don't they want to solve the murder by following standard investigatory protocols and by investigating all the possibilities? Why should this murder case be handled differently than every other murder case? Why are the reporters and news organizations and private investigators who ask questions about the lack of progress in the case vilified as 'conspiracy theorists'?"

Farah called for a "truly independent counsel investigation," adding:

This shouldn't take a year to conduct. After all, it's a murder case. The focus should be on who was responsible – like any other murder case. Who had the motive, means and opportunity? And all the evidence should be examined without regard to where the investigation leads. What's wrong with that? Why should that even be controversial? It's time to conduct a real investigation into the murder of Seth Rich – for his sake, his family's sake and for the sake of the American people and the principle of equal justice under the law.

The total reward for solving Seth Rich's murder currently stands at $350,000. One America News is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Rich's killer. WikiLeaks is pitching in $20,000, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department is offering $25,000, Burkman kicked in another $105,000, and businessman and investor Martin Shkreli is offering $100,000.

WND has launched a GoFundMe campaign to put more resources into investigative reporting, to hire an independent private investigator and to provide rewards for new evidence that leads to the arrest and conviction of Rich's murderer.

Sign the petition urging President Trump to press for an official investigation into the unsolved murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich.