AP retracts story on Terry McAuliffe lie claim
By ELIZABETH TITUS | 10/9/13 11:47 PM EDT Updated: 10/10/13 7:09 AM EDT
A chaotic episode erupted in the Virginia gubernatorial race late Wednesday, as The Associated Press published and then retracted a story that said court documents alleged Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe had lied to a federal official.
AP sent a news alert at 9:45 p.m. that read “Court records: McAuliffe lied to postal inspector investigating RI death benefits scam,” followed by a story. The story said McAuliffe’s campaign had not responded to requests for comment.
The campaign swiftly denied the story to NBC 12 in Richmond, a response it confirmed to POLITICO. The AP issued a rare withdrawal notice for the story at 11:25 p.m. — a major blow to an organization that distributes news to member organizations worldwide, many of which post alerts and stories to the Web almost instantaneously, potentially prolonging the lifespan of any error.
At issue are documents in a death-benefits scheme case against a Rhode Island man, Joseph Caramadre, and his former employee. They pleaded guilty to identity theft and wire fraud charges in 2012, according to the investigative news outlet ProPublica. Prosecutors submitted documents in federal court Wednesday identifying Caramadre investors, according to the Providence Journal. McAuliffe was among those identified.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/associated-press-retracts-story-terry-mcauliffe-lie-claim-virginia-governor-race-2013-98119.html#ixzz2hJojjr3P
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