A high-ranking representative for the Democratic National Committee allegedly questioned why a private investigator was “snooping” into the death of DNC staffer Seth Rich.

Detective Rod Wheeler, who’s been looking into the unsolved murder, told Sean Hannity Tuesday that shortly after being hired to investigate, a high-ranking DNC official called the Rich family inquiring about his “snooping.”

“Here’s one other thing that is going to be startling […] I’m just gonna say this right now. I reached out to the police department way back in March when the family first hired me right… to get involved. I didn’t hear anything from the police department for 2-3 days. Guess what I learned yesterday from the family of Seth Rich? The police department did not call me back because someone, a high-ranking official at the DNC — check this out — a high-ranking official at the DNC — when I called the police department, they got that information and called the Rich family wanting to know, why was I snooping around?”

Detective Wheeler also said he’s baffled why neither the D.C. Metro Police, nor the FBI can tell him where Rich’s computer is located.

“We actually have a statement from the FBI telling us to ‘contact the D.C. Police’ — the D.C. Police says, ‘Contact the FBI,'” he said.

According to Wheeler, a “very credible” federal investigator involved on the inside revealed to him that he had seen Rich’s computer and case file for himself and that Rich had, in fact, been emailing Wikileaks.

Wheeler also said that every time he makes mention of Wikileaks to the police he gets “shut down.”

Although Wheeler doesn’t know for sure that Rich’s case had anything to do with the DNC emails, he stresses that it’s very possible.

“[…] It’s very consistent for a person with my experience to begin to think, ‘Well perhaps there were some email communications between Seth Rich and Wikileaks,'” he said, adding up the details. “You have to look at every possibility. You can’t just look at one thing and just say, ‘That’s it.'”

Wheeler additionally revealed Seth had been having problems with a co-worker just before his death, and that the very same person is currently keeping tabs on his investigation into Rich’s murder.

“So, you know, connect the dots here; it’s all starting to come together,” the detective said.

Despite the detective’s strong suspicions, the Rich family on Tuesday issued a statement distancing themselves from Wheeler’s “unsubstantiated claims.” The family also said Wheeler was hired on and paid for by a third party.

Here's full statement from Seth Rich's family: pic.twitter.com/qX52cHHQL6

— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) May 16, 2017

Fox News reported Tuesday that an anonymous federal source had confirmed 44,053 DNC emails and 17,761 attachments had been transferred from Rich to reporter Gavin MacFadyen, who worked with Wikileaks.

However, on Wednesday CNN claimed a “law enforcement source” denied the FBI had possession of Rich’s laptop.

The family’s spokesperson Brad Bauman also asked for an official corrections and apologies from Fox News and affiliate WTTG for “inaccurate reporting and damaging the legacy of their son.”

Neither Fox network has yet issued an apology or retraction.

Shepard Ambellas is an opinion journalist, analyst, and the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News & Politics (Intellihub.com). Shepard is also known for producing Shade: The Motion Picture (2013) and appearing on Travel Channel’s America Declassified (2013). Shepard is a regular contributor to Infowars. Read more from Shep’s World. Get the Podcast. Follow Shep on Facebook and Twitter.

Adan Salazar also contributed to this article.

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