President Obama’s spokesman blamed a “malfunction” of a recording device Tuesday for a gap in a transcript of the president’s remarks at a fundraiser that omitted his comment about failing to pay some bills.
“There was a problem with the recording of the event,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest, blaming a malfunction of the equipment used by an official stenographer who attended the Chicago fundraiser.
Mr. Obama was talking to Democratic donors Monday night when he mentioned finding “unpaid bills” on the desk of his Chicago home. Journalists who attended the event heard, recorded and reported the remark.
But the official transcript released by the White House omitted the comment. The White House released a revised transcript Tuesday morning in which the passage of his remarks was defined as “inaudible.
Mr. Earnest said the “only reason” that journalists were questioning the incident was due to the “unprecedented commitment to transparency” by the Obama administration, which allowed the event to be reported in the first place.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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