Melania Trump staffer takes blame for plagiarized speech

A Trump family staff writer who helped Melania Trump pen her Monday night address to the Republican convention has spoken out amid a firestorm of complaints that the Republican nominee's wife plagiarized First Lady Michelle Obama.

Melania's speech at the RNC Monday night quickly came under fire when observers realized part of her remarks closely matched Michelle Obama's remarks at the 2008 Democratic convention.

SEE ALSO: Early draft of Melania's controversial speech raised new questions

Members of the Trump campaign initially denied the allegations, but an in-house writer at the Trump Organization issued a statement Wednesday morning taking responsibility for the alleged plagiarism.

The staffer, Meredith McIver, said she and the candidate's wife discussed "many people who inspired her," which included the current first lady.

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"Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama's speech as examples," McIver wrote. "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, and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps, as well as to Mrs. Obama."

McIver went on to say she offered her resignation for the error, but that the Trump family rejected it.

"Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow from these experiences," she wrote.

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An early draft of the speech obtained by NBC News this week did not include the section that appears to have been lifted from the 2008 convention speech.

McIver is reportedly a former ballet dancer and English major who worked on four of Donald Trump's books, including 'Think Like A Billionaire."

See how Melania has been mocked for the speech: