A staff member with the Trump Organization has taken responsibility for Melania’s speech.

A staff member with the Trump Organization has taken responsibility for Melania’s speech, which, as many have pointed out, plagiarizes one given by Michelle Obama years ago.

In a statement, Meredith McIver, an in-house staff writer, says, "In working with Melania Trump on her recent First Lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired her…A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama. Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama’s speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech. I did not check Mrs. Obama’s speeches. This was my mistake…” 

McIver goes on to apologize to those affected. 

She also writes, “Yesterday, I offered my resignation to Mr. Trump and the Trump family, but they rejected it. Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow from these experiences.” 

McIver says the decision to release a statement was her own.