MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell retracts story on Trump's loan documents

Lawrence O&#039;Donnell apologizes — (Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/MSNBC)

On Wednesday, a lawyer for President Trump threatened to sue MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell and NBC Universal over an O'Donnell's report Tuesday night that, according to a single source, some of Trump's loans from Deutsche Bank had been cosigned by a Russian oligarch. On Wednesday's Last Word, O'Donnell said running with the unverified "if true" story was a mistake.

"This afternoon attorneys for the president sent us a letter asserting the story is false," he said. "They also demanded a retraction. Tonight we are retracting the story. We don't know whether the information is inaccurate, but the fact is we do know it wasn't ready for broadcast, and for that I apologize."

There was speculation Trump wouldn't actually sue, since that could open up the documents he is trying to shield to discovery. But O'Donnell's retraction seems to fulfill the demands from Trump's lawyer, so we may never know.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.