Monrovia — Outgoing United States Ambassador Michael McCarthy has issued an apology for his choice of words during his penultimate press conference, acknowledging that he did not fully grasp the negative connotations associated with the word "nonsense" in Liberia.

During the press conference, Ambassador McCarthy condemned the recent attack on Senator Prince Y. Johnson's Church, deeming the action unacceptable and asserting that such behavior should not be repeated, referring to it as "nonsense." However, during his final press roundtable with the Liberian media on Tuesday, Amb. McCarthy expressed regret that his use of the phrase may have overshadowed the Embassy's crucial message, which called on political parties who had endorsed the Farmington Declaration to refrain from engaging in provocative or violent acts.

In a solemn statement, Ambassador McCarthy acknowledged that he had also provided inaccurate information in a press release following his recent trip to the Southeast. He had previously stated that the Liberian Legislature had spent US$65 million on itself in FY 2022. However, he now clarified that the unaudited statement of the consolidated fund account for the calendar year 2022, released by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, indicated that the correct figure was US$90.8 million. This amount constituted approximately 11 percent of the total budget of US$811.6 million.

Further details regarding Ambassador McCarthy's statement will be provided shortly.