The stenographer’s office supervisor called the release of the altered transcript ‘a breach of protocol and spoliation of transcript integrity between the Stenography and Press Offices.’
After consulting with President Joe Biden, White House press officials altered the official transcript of his Tuesday call in which he referred to former president Donald Trump’s supporters as “garbage,” a move the stenographer’s office supervisor labeled a total “breach of protocol and spoliation of transcript integrity,” the Associated Press reported.
According to the original transcript from the White House stenographer’s office, Biden said, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters—his—his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
The transcript released by the White House press office, however, added an apostrophe, changing “supporters” to “supporter’s.”
The press office “conferred with the president” before making the edit, according to an internal email from the head of the stenographer’s office obtained by the Associated Press.
The stenographer’s office supervisor called the release of the altered transcript “a breach of protocol and spoliation of transcript integrity between the Stenography and Press Offices.”
“If there is a difference in interpretation, the Press Office may choose to withhold the transcript but cannot edit it independently,” the supervisor wrote in the internal email, adding, “Our Stenography Office transcript—released to our [distribution], which includes the National Archives—is now different than the version edited and released to the public by Press Office staff.”
Biden’s “garbage” remark sparked a firestorm of criticism from both sides of the aisle, prompting the press office to request the stenographers quickly produce a transcript of the call, according to the email.