Julian Assange fans the conspiracy flames, implying Rich could have been a source of the DNC leaked emails. Russia’s propaganda outlets and its notorious troll farm pump out the story, and “alt-right” websites latch onto it. Deborah Sines, the prosecutor in charge of the case, digs into where the conspiracy claims are coming from and makes a startling discovery: The original website report about Rich’s being assassinated by a Clinton hit squad was planted by the Russian SVR, the country’s version of the CIA, infecting social media with an operation that a former top CIA official calls a “100 percent continuation of active measures” — the term used to describe Soviet disinformation operations during the Cold War. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.