CHARLOTTE — Washington Examiner reporter Philip Klein is not holding his breath for an apology from Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), who falsely accused Klein Tuesday evening of "deliberately" misquoting her in an article.
"If I could hold my breath long enough to wait for a Debbie Wasserman Schultz apology then I'd probably try to enter myself in the Guinness Book of World Records," Klein told the Free Beacon Wednesday morning during an interview at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte.
Klein caught Wasserman Schultz lying about Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren’s position on Republicans.
"We know, and I’ve heard no less than Ambassador Michael Oren say this, that what the Republicans are doing is dangerous for Israel," Wasserman Schultz said, leading Oren to directly disavow her claim and deem it patently false.
After facing criticism across the pro-Israel community, Wasserman Schultz was forced to defend her statements on Fox News, where she accused Klein of purposely misquoting her—another claim that turned out to be fabricated.
Klein released the audio tape of Wasserman Schultz’s comment this morning, proving that the Democratic leader was not only quoted accurately, but that she intentionally misled the crowd about Oren’s comments.
"Substantively, I find it ironic that [Wasserman Schultz] claims Republicans are the ones playing political football with Israel, yet in order to make the point, she's using the Israeli ambassador as a political bludgeon and claiming he said something which he has emphatically denied ever saying," Klein told the Free Beacon, adding that he was shocked to learn that Wasserman Schultz had charged him with intentionally misquoting her.
"It was a surprise to me because, when confronted, she could have claimed that she was somehow misunderstood, yet she went on to make this maximalist claim accusing me of deliberately misquoting her," he said. "That it was malicious and that I deliberately changed her words somehow, I find this claim particularly surprising," given that Wasserman Schultz had made similar statements in past interviews.
Wasserman Schultz should have assumed that Klein brought an audio recorder for accuracy.
"It's surprising someone in the media spotlight would respond in that way without accounting for the fact that I might have audio of it," Klein said. "I don't go to anything without recording it … just in case something like this happens.
Klein further noted that DNC officials failed to respond to his requests for comment about Wasserman Schultz’s remarks after Oren issued his denial.
The DNC did not respond to a request for comment from the Free Beacon.