Is Abu Bakra al-Thaqafi a trustworthy narrator of hadith, and was he flogged by Umar ibn al-Khattab?

Abu Bakra is the Companion Nufay' ibn al-Harith, or Nufay' ibn Masruh, may Allah be pleased with him. He was a narrator of Hadith, and a number of his sons and others narrated from him. The Sunnis unanimously agree that all the Companions were righteous and trustworthy. The story of 'Umar flogging Abu Bakra, Nafi', and Shibl ibn Ma'bad was due to their testimony against Al-Mughirah concerning adultery. Since the quorum of four witnesses was not met, 'Umar applied the punishment for slander to them, in accordance with the noble verse: {And those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses - flog them with eighty strokes and never accept their testimony thereafter. And those are the defiantly disobedient} [An-Nur: 4]. This punishment does not invalidate Abu Bakra's righteousness or his narrations; rather, he is among the most virtuous and righteous of the Companions.