A Donald Trump staffer and longtime friend of his wife, Melania, has admitted she's at least partly to blame for the plagiarized passages in a speech given on day one of the Republican convention in Cleveland, Ohio, this week.
Meredith McIver released a statement Wednesday admitting she helped write the speech Melania read, which included statements apparently stolen from First Lady Michelle Obama's 2008 Democratic convention speech.
SEE ALSO:Here are Michelle Obama and Melania Trump's speeches, side-by-sideThe scandal surrounding the speech made waves across the globe after the similarities were first spotted by journalist Jarret Hill. McIver, though, claimed it was an accident and that Melania was simply inspired by Michelle Obama, "a person she has always liked."
Meredith McIver admits she wrote Melania's controversial speech.Credit: TrumpIn the statement, McIver, an author and ghostwriter for Donald Trump, detailed how Melania read the First Lady's speech over the phone to her while she took notes. She admitted including these notes in the final speech, without checking it against Obama's Democratic convention speech from 2008.
"This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as Mrs. Obama."
"I did not check Mrs. Obama's speeches. This was my mistake, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as Mrs. Obama. No harm was meant," she wrote.
The news of McIver's involvement in the saga was first noted by the New York Times, which also reported a speech was prepared originally by two professional speechwriters but disregarded by Melania. The speechwriters were reportedly not aware of the changes until they heard it with the rest of the world on Monday night.
According to the Times, Melania called on McIver to help her with the final version. Since the news of the plagiarism scandal broke, the Trump camp has denied and dismissed the allegations.
McIver said in the statement she offered her resignation, but it was rejected by the Trump family. "Mr Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes, and that we learn and grow from these experiences," she wrote.
She also praised the billionaire and Republican nominee for president for his handling of the issue and said she was honored to work for him.
It came just moments after Trump finally took to his favorite social media platform, Twitter, to throw some shade at the news media and make light of the situation involving his wife.
The media is spending more time doing a forensic analysis of Melania's speech than the FBI spent on Hillary's emails.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2016
Good news is Melania's speech got more publicity than any in the history of politics especially if you believe that all press is good press!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2016
The headline of this story has been updated to reflect the possibility the Trump camp may not have released the full truth, and nothing but the truth.
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TopicsDonald TrumpMelania Trump
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