Melania Trump's speechwriter has been identified as in-house staffer Meredith McIver. McIver issued a statement claiming that she did not intend to plagiarize Michelle Obama's speech, and that the copied passages arose from suggestions from Melania that she did not double-check to the original source material.
McIver apologized for the "confusion and hysteria" brought on by the speech. She offered her resignation to Donald Trump and the Trump family, but they rejected it.
Meredith McIver, an in-house staff writer from the Trump Organization, releases statement on Melania speech pic.twitter.com/mWuPKmjsbn
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) July 20, 2016
.@MaeveReston: Trump in-house staffer Meredith McIver accepts responsibility for plagiarism in Melania Trump speech, offers resignation.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 20, 2016
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump tweeted that Melania's speech "got more publicity than any in the history of politics."
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