New York (CNN Business) Right-wing author Jerome Corsi issued an apology on Monday and retracted an InfoWars story he wrote spreading a conspiracy theory about murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich.

In the retraction, which was featured on the front page of InfoWars, a fringe website with a long history of spreading conspiracy theories, Corsi conceded that "his allegations were not based upon any independent factual knowledge."

"It was not Dr. Corsi's intent to rely upon inaccurate information, or to cause any suffering to Mr. Rich's family," reads the retraction. "To that end, Dr. Corsi retracts the article and apologizes to the Rich family."

The retraction was requested by the legal team for Aaron Rich, the brother of Seth Rich, a spokesperson for Aaron Rich's legal team told CNN.

Corsi's retracted story cited a Washington Times column that said, without evidence, that Seth Rich leaked a trove of DNC emails to WikiLeaks.

Read More