The Washington Times retracts a chronicle about Seth Rich, whose murder spawned conspiracy theories

Sunday's Washington Times retracted and apologized for a chronicle about Seth Rich, a staff member of the National Democratic Committee whose unresolved murder sparked right-wing conspiracy theories about Election of 2016.

In the retraction, The Times wrote that the column, published in March, contained statements about Rich's brother, Aaron Rich, that the publication was now considered "false".

"The Washington Times apologizes to Mr. Rich and his family," said the retraction. "All online copies of the column have been removed and all online content referring to the column has been removed to the extent that it is under the control of the Washington Times."

The retraction was part of a settlement of a lawsuit, according to Michael Gottlieb, Aaron Rich's lawyer, who said he welcomed the apology.

"The last two years have brought unimaginable pain and grief to my family and myself," Aaron Rich said in a statement. "I lost my only brother in a murder that has not yet been resolved, but politically-motivated plot theorists wrongly accuse me of grotesque criminal acts."

"I accept the apologies and retractions of the Washington Times," he continued, "and I am grateful that the Washington Times has acknowledged the indisputable truth that these allegations are, and have always been, false."

In the column, James A. Lyons, a retired US Navy admiral, had claimed that "it is well known in the intelligence community" that the Rich brothers were responsible for sharing a cache of emails from committee with WikiLeaks. He also asked why Aaron Rich had not been interviewed after the death of his brother.

In the retraction, the Times disavowed both allegations, saying it had no reason to believe the statement about the intelligence community and acknowledging that Aaron Rich had been interrogated by law enforcement officials after the death of his brother.

Seth Rich was 27 when he was shot in the back near his home in Washington in 2016. While police theorized that he might have been killed in a failed robbery attempt, right-wing commentators have several times emails, create a theory of sustainable conspiracy.