#chris brunet

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Right-wing ghouls revive the Seth Rich conspiracy theory 10 years after his murder

Matt Gertz at MMFA:

It's 2026 and MAGA lickspittle Benny Johnson is hosting a discussion of whether Hillary Clinton had former Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich killed in 2016. “This is why it's called a conspiracy theory,” former American Conservative contributing editor Chris Brunet told Johnson during a lengthy interview about Rich’s tragic murder on Johnson’s show Wednesday. “It's because it's a conspiracy of top DNC officials, including Hillary Clinton, to essentially murder Seth Rich in cold blood, is the conspiracy theory. And I believe that's what happened. I don’t believe he was the victim of a random mugging.” Brunet added that President Donald Trump “should open a new investigation into the murder of Seth Rich to try to find his killers.” “I would love for there to be a full investigation into this,” Johnson replied, later telling his audience to subscribe to Brunet’s Substack and “send tips if you know anything about this.”

These ghouls are reviving the Seth Rich conspiracy theory nearly a decade after it first became a cause célèbre for the online right, which baselessly linked Rich’s tragic murder on July 10, 2016, in what police determined was an unsolved botched robbery while he was walking home late at night in Washington, D.C., to WikiLeaks’ release 12 days later of thousands of internal DNC emails whose contents damaged Clinton’s presidential campaign. 

News accounts citing intelligence sources quickly suggested that Russian hackers had stolen the emails and provided them to WikiLeaks; the U.S. intelligence community publicly stated in October 2016 that Russia had hacked the DNC; and the final report from then-special counsel Robert Mueller, who secured indictments against 12 Russian intelligence officers for the DNC hack, concluded that the emails were stolen and released through WikiLeaks as part of a Kremlin plot to undermine Clinton’s campaign. But right-wing conspiracy theorists, seeking to undermine arguments that Trump was too close to the Kremlin, claimed based on just about nothing that Rich had been the true source of the emails, and that he had been murdered — perhaps on Clinton’s order — in retaliation for their release. 

[...]

This was perhaps the saddest and most grotesque saga I’ve seen come out of the right-wing media in my 19 years at Media Matters. And as the 10th anniversary of Rich’s murder approaches, the conspiracy theorists are back.  The hook for Brunet’s appearance on Johnson’s show is an allegation from attorney Ty Clevenger, posted online Monday and boosted the next day by the conspiracy theory site Gateway Pundit, claiming that “an attorney for the government told me that I would soon be getting confirmation that several hundred pages of documents related to Seth Rich were found in a previously-hidden room at FBI headquarters” where they were supposedly “among the files designated for destruction.”

10 years ago, former DNC staffer Seth Rich was murdered. The murder spawned unhinged conspiracy theories among the far-right fever swamps.

10 years later, MAGA hack Benny Johnson held a discussion on the death of Rich on his show.

[llamhigyn-y-dwr]

Chris Brunet is onto you, Nicholas.

[llamhigyn-y-dwr]

Chris Brunet and Jason Whitlock joined forces to talk about nonces in the groyper movement.

I look forward to seeing Nick calling Jason Whitlock a fathead again tonight in response

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Tristin Hopper

Published: Apr 22, 2026

[ Detail from a Memorial University job posting outlining which identity groups are allowed to apply. ]

In what may mark a new milestone in the annals of race-based Canadian hiring, Newfoundland and Labrador’s only university currently has five academic job postings that are explicitly forbidden for straight white men.

Memorial University, located in the provincial capital of St. John’s, was founded as a “living memorial” to the outsized number of Newfoundland men killed in the First World War. Job postings for the university make note of this, reminding applicants that the school exists so that their “cause and sacrifice might not be forgotten.”

But this month, five of those same job postings also contain itemized restrictions excluding the one cohort that made up the overwhelming majority of Newfoundland’s war dead.

Specifically, the five jobs are advertised exclusively for “women; 2SLGBTQIA+ people; Indigenous peoples; racialized persons; and persons with disabilities.”

Memorial University’s bloc of identity-screened job postings was first noted in a Monday social media post by independent journalist Chris Brunet.

The screened jobs, which are all five-year postings, are mostly in the hard sciences. They include research positions for computational biochemistry, musculoskeletal health and “AI-driven navigation for Arctic and harsh environments.”

The other two are listed as research positions in “Indigenous knowledge, youth and digital technology,” and “community health and substance use.”

In a social media post, former Alberta premier Jason Kenney noted that one per cent of Newfoundland’s male population was killed in the First World War, which yielded Memorial University’s name.

“None of those men, or those who served with them, would now be eligible to teach at the university named in honour of their sacrifice,” he wrote. “DEI has gone too far for too long.”

Virtually all job postings for Canadian universities now contain some sort of “equity” component favouring certain identity groups over others.

In a 2025 study, the Aristotle Foundation examined 489 job postings issued by 10 Canadian universities, and found just 12 that didn’t contain some element saying that candidates would be prioritized based on their race, gender or sexual identity.

Despite this, it’s still somewhat rare for a university to explicitly turn away candidates based on identarian characteristics. In the Aristotle Foundation study, only 16 of the 489 jobs they analyzed “discriminated against candidates based on natural, uncontrollable factors or group identity.”

As to what’s driving Memorial University’s sudden turn towards discriminatory hiring? It’s required by federal mandate.

All five of the screened jobs are funded by the Canada Research Chairs Program, a $311 million federal program that pays the expenses of about 2,000 academic posts at universities across Canada.

The five Memorial University jobs represent a combined $2.5 million in Canada Research Chair funding for the school.

Ever since 2021, this funding has come with strict targets on “equity, diversity and inclusion.”

As per the regularly updated identity quotas maintained on the Canada Research Chair website, at least 22.9 per cent of all academic positions funded by the program must be filled by “racialized” individuals, 4.9 per cent by Indigenous people, 7.5 per cent by people with disabilities and 50.9 per cent by either women or trans people.

In the case of Memorial University, to retain Canada Research Chair funding they must ensure that at least three of their funded positions are filled by “racialized” candidates, one is a “person with a disability,” and seven are either women or members of a “gender equity-seeking group.”

When the quotas were first brought in, it was assumed that schools could meet them organically by encouraging applications from “underrepresented” or “equity-deserving” demographics.

Within only a few years, however, it had led to Canada Research Chair positions being openly filled with discriminatory job postings.

In one of the first instances to receive widespread public attention, in early 2024 the University of Waterloo advertised two Canada Research Chair positions in computer science. One was restricted to candidates who were “women, transgender, gender-fluid, non-binary, or Two-spirit.” The other available only to “racialized” candidates.

Memorial University said in a statement to National Post that “all of the job ads are consistent with federal policy and are a condition of participating in the (CRC) program.”

“All Canadian universities that receive funding for Canada Research Chair positions must demonstrate progress toward nationally established equity targets and address systemic barriers in academic hiring. Memorial proudly complies with this initiative,” the school said.

“It is important to note that all candidates—regardless of background—must meet rigorous standards of research excellence. Final appointments are subject to both institutional review and a national peer-review process administered through the program.”

Meeting the federal government’s identity quotas would be particularly difficult in Newfoundland and Labrador, given that its racial demographics are far whiter than the Canadian average.

As of the 2021 census, 87.4 per cent of the province is of European heritage, compared to 69.8 per cent Canada-wide.

“Memorial continues to welcome applications from all qualified individuals across its academic positions depending on program requirements,” the school said.

==

"wHaT'S WrOnG WiTh dEi? RaTiOnAlLy sPeAkInG, dIvErSiTy eQuItY AnD InClUsIoN ArE GoOd gOaLs tO WoRk tOwArD In a hUmAnE AnD PlUrAlIsTiC SoCiEtY!!1!!"

Actual response to a previous DEI-critical post.

DEI is racism and sexism, and the elimination of merit.

[llamhigyn-y-dwr]

Jaden-Chris Brunet crossover

[quod-ludeo-sum-ego]

I don't know who this guy is, but yes. All of this. I'm so glad for the people who are learning now. I'm so glad for the people who are coming out now. If you go on his page in the Wayback Machine like I'm doing (I was randomly redirected to this page after not being able to find a tweet) you can see in real time the progress he's made, the things he is learning and standing up against.

Be proud of the people who understand now.