"I did favor the tax cut, but the quote Mr. Suskind attributes to me is fabricated. I didn’t say anything even remotely similar to what he quoted me as saying, and I didn’t make a recommendation in that meeting. I know this with certainty because this was the first big Presidential meeting in which I had a significant speaking role, and I was, to say the least, nervous …
It’s a small point, and something that only I would notice. Neither Mr. Suskind nor anyone else affiliated with the book had contacted me about the quote before publication, and indeed I never interacted with the author until I met him accidentally several years later.
Had the book purported to characterize my view, rather than actually quoting me, I might have shrugged it off. But when you see a fabricated, unverified quote attributed to you in a book that claims to be a historical description of an important policy meeting with the President, it sticks with you," – Keith Hennessey.
The Dish 