Maher denied making the remarks and accused the students of fabricating them
Evidence
The “Maher Affair” was supplanted on the front pages in Japan only by the earthquake and tsunami that triggered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. During the disaster, Maher reportedly played an important role in the U.S. government’s humanitarian response. The next month he retired from the State Department. He commented on the uproar for the first time in a video interview with the Wall Street Journal. In the interview, Maher denied ever making the statements attributed to him, calling them “a kind of fabrication.” He said the comments had been invented by the students. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 832
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims