Speculation:
The Trump Organization Lawyers (TTOL) had them dead to rights on all points and they knew it, and when TTOL pounded their fists on the table and demanded a full, point-by-point, complete, honest and obvious retraction, the newsrag caved. TTOL probably dictated the actual statement.
I hope the GDF reporter gets his/her/its due, too.
I hope this is an object lesson to all the TDS people, reporters, and editors.
I hope they learn or re-learn the definitions of "slander" and "libel."