This was a public council meeting. Everything stated in a public meeting is on the record. It is not a courtroom where the jury is asked to leave and disregard what was said. Public officials, county commissioners included, regularly share background information that could be construed as "hearsay." If what a public official says on the record can be proven false, then it may be subject to a followup article all its own.

Nowhere does the article state that town council members didn't make the controversial comments quoted in the previous story — they did. Rather, this was their effort to clarify those remarks and state that they didn't intend their comments to come across as "anti-Navy." 

Public officials know that everything they say on the record is subject to being quoted and should make every effort to be clear in their intent and meaning at the time they make their comments rather than erroneously claiming they were "misquoted," or "taken out of context."