Excerpt:
A Washington-based publication said Tuesday that it incorrectly quoted President Barack Obama's newly appointed envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference as saying in 2004 that an American who aided a Palestinian terrorist group was the victim of "politically motivated persecutions."
The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (WRMEA) was responding to queries about why an archived story quoting Rashad Hussain as making the controversial comments was altered years later.
WRMEA News Editor and Executive Director Delinda Hanley denied there was a "cover-up," and implied that anti-Muslim discrimination was behind the fact this was now being raised.
At the time of the quoted remarks Hussain was a Yale law student. Last year he was appointed White House deputy associate counsel and Obama at the weekend named him as special envoy to the OIC, the 57-member bloc of Islamic states.