On social media, many former colleagues of Avila took to social media to share memories of the venerable newsman, and added condolences for his family and friends.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called them "nothing more than bad-faith efforts to distract from President Trump’s historic accomplishments."
"I’ve talked to him about the CBS and the ABC case, and he sees this as legitimizing his claims that there’s fake news, that the news is out to get him."