The Washington Times has retracted a March op-ed about Seth Rich, the Democratic National Committee staffer murdered in Washington D.C. in July 2016, saying that the column included statements “that we now believe to be false.”

Rich’s still-unsolved fatal shooting has been the subject of right-wing conspiracy theories that began to circulate in the lead-up to the 2016 elections and continue to impact his bereaved family.

The Washington Times was one of the defendants in a lawsuit in late March from Aaron Rich, the victim’s older brother, who sought damages for the “economic, reputational, and emotional harm” caused by the publicized claims.

The daily newspaper, based in D.C., apologized to the Rich family over the column in question, which was titled “More cover-up questions: The curious murder of Seth Rich poses questions that just won’t stay under the official rug.” Published in March 2018 and written by a retired Navy admiral named James Lyons, the column claimed that “it is well known in the intelligence circles” that the Rich brothers provided Wikileaks with leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee, and that Aaron Rich was not interviewed by law enforcement.

In its retraction published Sunday evening, The Washington Times says that both of those statements are untrue. “All online copies of the Column have been deleted and all online content referencing the Column has been deleted to the extent within The Washington Times’ control.”

Aaron Rich said in a statement that “the last two years have brought unimaginable pain and grief to my family and me. I lost my only brother to a murder that to this date has not been solved, only to then have politically-motivated conspiracy theorists falsely accuse me of grotesque criminal acts. I accept the Washington Times’ retraction and apology, and I am grateful that the Washington Times has acknowledged the indisputable truth that these allegations are, and always have been, false.”

His lawyer Michael Gottlieb, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP called the retraction and apology “a milestone in our case, as well as in the broader effort to shine a light on conspiracy theorists who spread malicious lies for personal and political gain. We will continue our efforts against the remaining defendants, who to this day continue to spread unconscionable lies about Aaron in order to advance their false political narratives.”

The other defendants in the lawsuit are Ed Butowsky, Matthew Couch, and America First Media Group. Butowsky is a cable news contributor who stands accused of fanning the flames around Rich’s story as a way to discredit ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. He contacted the family after the murder and offered to help finance a private investigation. Couch is the host and founder of America First Media.

In a joint motion filed on Tuesday, Rich’s legal team moved to dismiss the complaint against The Washington Times because Rich and the newspaper entered into a settlement agreement. Under that motion, Rich and The Washington Times will bear their own costs and expenses.

“As to the remaining defendants, I look forward to my day in court,” Aaron Rich said in his statement.

Seth Rich was 27 years old when he was shot in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of D.C. on July 10, 2016. Conspiracy theorists have claimed that Seth Rich’s death was carried out by the DNC in retaliation for leaking committee emails. That widely debunked theory has been peddled as an alternative to Russian interference.

In July of this year, special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 12 Russian military officers for hacking emails from the DNC and Hillary Clinton’s campaign. That still hasn’t put a definitiative end to the conspiracy theory surrounding Rich’s murder.

This isn’t the first time a news outlet has retracted a bogus Seth Rich story. In May 2017, Fox News retracted its story connecting Rich with Wikileaks, saying that the article “was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting. Upon appropriate review, the article was found not to meet those standards and has since been removed.”

Hours before Fox News published its now-retracted story, D.C.’s local affiliate station, Fox 5, also posted a article claiming a tie between Rich and Wikileaks, which is still available on their website.

Lawsuit Against Washington Times, Butowsky, Crouch, America First Media by Rachel Kurzius on Scribd

Previously:
On Anniversary, Seth Rich’s Family Says To Stop Using His Murder As ‘A Political Football’
Why The Hell Is Fox 5’s Bogus Seth Rich Story Still Online?
Fox 5 Continues Peddling Shameful Hearsay On Murder Of DNC Staffer
GOP Lobbyist Now Opening ‘War Room’ Dedicated To Solving Seth Rich Murder
‘It’s Hurtful’: Seth Rich’s Family Responds To Latest Conspiracy Theory About His Murder
‘We Need Your Help’: Family Of Murdered DNC Staffer Pleas At Crime Scene