【Watch Midhunter】

A Donald Trump staffer and Watch Midhunterlongtime 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-side

The 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."

---

You May Also Like

---

---

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

In 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.

Mashable Trend Report Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means. Sign up for Mashable’s weekly Trend Report newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

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.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

• Deals
• Science
• Tech
• Shopping
• Digital Culture
• Entertainment
• Games
• Social Good

• Best soundbar deal: Save $300 on the Sonos Arc
• GDPR is currently searched for more than Beyoncé on Google
• Sit back, relax, and let GDPR legislation lull you into a peaceful slumber
• Review: Quantic Dream's 'Detroit: Become Human'
• Best robot vacuum deal: Save $200 on Eufy X10 Pro Omni robot vacuum
• Apple now lets you download every bit of data it ever collected from you
• Where to (re)watch Harry and Meghan's royal wedding
• Justice Department launches probe into Bitcoin price manipulation, report claims
• Waymo data shows humans are terrible drivers compared to AI
• Instapaper to temporarily block European access, cites GDPR

• The Time for Art Is Now
• 2018 Whiting Awards: Tommy Pico, Poetry
• When Frank Lloyd Wright Designed a Bookstore
• Inside Dawn Clements’s Studio by Eileen Townsend
• Mean Streets: The Life and Afterlife of 'Berlin Alexanderplatz'
• Illicit Love Letters: Albert Camus and Maria Casares
• The Sultan, the Armenian, and the Gaslight Mystery
• Willa Cather, Pioneer
• 2018 Whiting Awards: Hansol Jung, Drama
• Poetry Rx: Snowy Forests and Urgent Hearts

• How to Settle Down with Dystopia
• Eight women accuse Morgan Freeman of inappropriate behavior
• The sexiest ships in Star Wars
• We're getting more 'Queer Eye' – and much sooner than expected
• Patched Desktop PC: Meltdown & Spectre Benchmarked
• Parents sue their 30
• Apple wins $539 million in damages in patent battle with Samsung
• 'Suits' creator gushes about what it was like to attend Meghan and Harry's wedding
• Q&A with tendercare founder and CEO Shauna Sweeney
• Jason Batemen apologizes for that 'Arrested Development' interview

• Samsung Unpacked stream is set for May 12, 2025
• Woman orders 'Summa Cum Laude' cake, gets the censored version instead
• What to watch out for in Mark Zuckerberg's EU hearing
• 'Game of Thrones' Season 8
• NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for April 23: Tips to solve Connections #212
• 13 moments in 'Solo' that made us cheer
• The Google Pixel 3 design might be hidden in Android P beta
• GDPR meltdown: A bunch of U.S. news sites are down in Europe
• Sony launches new flagship XM6 headphones: Order them now
• Elon Musk gives a tentative release date for the Tesla Model Y