Washington Times Retracts Op-Ed on Slain DNC Staffer Seth Rich’s Brother

The Washington Times issued a retraction and apology Monday for an op-ed about Aaron Rich, the brother of slain Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, whose unsolved murder inspired conspiracy theories on the far right. “The column included statements about Aaron Rich, the brother of former Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, that we now believe to be false,” reads the retraction, which is part of a settlement between Aaron Rich and the Times. “The Washington Times apologizes to Mr. Rich and his family. 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.” According to the lawsuit Aaron Rich filed, the Times article published March 1 stated that it was “well-known in intelligence circles that Seth Rich and his brother, Aaron Rich, downloaded the DNC emails and was paid by WikiLeaks for that information.” But the editorial did not provide evidence to support that claim, the lawsuit said. Seth Rich, a DNC staffer, was fatally shot in Washington, D.C., in July 2016. Though police said evidence indicated Rich was the victim of a robbery gone wrong, far-right activists and media outlets peddled the conspiracy theory Rich had leaked the DNC emails to WikiLeaks.