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Yesterday morning, news that Brian Williams had been fired from the NBC Nightly News began to circulate online. 

Later in the day, that story was clarified, and it was revealed that Williams was demoted to "anchor of breaking news and special reports" on the basic cable 24-hour news network MSNBC.

In preparation for his return to the public eye, Williams sat down with Today’s Matt Lauer just moments ago to offer his side of the story for the first time.

As you may recall, Williams was suspended from his post for six months after it was revealed that he had exaggerated a story about coming under fire in a helicopter while covering the Iraq War.

Williams said today that he "got mixed up" about the details, but he maintains that he did not knowingly lie to viewers.

"I told the story correctly for years before I told it incorrectly," Williams said. "I wasn’t trying to mislead people. That to me is a huge difference here…It came from a bad place. It came from a sloppy choice of words."

Williams went on to praise the work of his successor, Lester Holt, and express his gratitude for his new job. "I am fully aware of the second chance that I have been given," Williams said.