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Melania Trump Speechwriter Admits Mistake, Offers To Quit, Donald Says No

CLEVELAND (CBS/AP) — A speechwriter for Donald Trump's company said Wednesday she made a mistake and apologized for using passages from a 2008 Michelle Obama speech in the Republican party convention speech delivered by Melania Trump.

Read: Meredith McIver's Letter

Meredith McIver said she offered to resign but Donald Trump refused to accept her resignation.

In a statement issued by the campaign, McIver said that Mrs. Trump had told her that she admired Mrs. Obama, and had read passages from Obama's speech as an example of things she liked.

McIver said she wrote down the passages and later included them in the speech.

"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 to Mrs. Obama. No harm was meant."

McIver was described in the statement as an "in-house staff writer at the Trump Organization."

Trump issued two statements about the speech on Twitter Wednesday.

These were his first public comments about the controversy.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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