The girlfriend of the son of a congressman now says that the son did not assault her — that, no, her high heel broke and caused her to fall and break her nose — even though her boyfriend pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in Washington Wednesday morning. The Virginia Democrat's office released the woman's statement, in which she said the police report is inaccurate in saying Patrick Moran slammed her head into a trash can cage. The unusual chain of events — and a series of press releases — are a little hard to follow, so here's a timeline:

December 1, 1:23 a.m.: Patrick Moran and his girlfriend are arguing outside a bar in Washington, D.C. A police officer and a city Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration agent say they witness Moran "grab a white female by the back of her head with his hand and slam her head into the metal trash can cage in front of the nightclub 'The Getaway.'" The police officer says the woman was "bleeding heavily from her nose and also observed that her nose and right eye were extremely swollen." The medical technician tells the cops her nose looks broken.

December 12, morning: Patrick Moran pleads guilty to a lesser offense, misdemeanor assault, and is sentenced to probation.

December 12, early afternoon: The Washington City Paper's Will Sommer reports Patrick Moran's guilty plea. Rep. Moran gives Sommer a statement that seems, to our ears at least, a little tone-deaf. Rep. Moran called his son and the woman "good kids" and said, "I hope their privacy will be respected... They look forward to putting this embarrassing situation behind them."

December 12, 2:30p.m.: Rep. Moran's office releases a longer statement saying the police officer and the ABRA agent were wrong and did not actually witness the incident, and that the couple's denials are the only accounts that matter:

The Congressman strongly condemns domestic violence. As was stated in court by both his son Patrick and his girlfriend Kelly, the situation was an accident. They were the only two people involved in the scene. In that sense, their statements are the only ones that matter. They are both very embarrassed by the situation, which involved drinking, and they are looking to move past it, and ask for their privacy to be respected.

December 12, late afternoon: Moran's office stops speaking for the woman, and issues a statement in her name. She says the police report is false. ARLNow.com reports she says:

This was an accident that has been blown out of proportion. The statements in the police report are inaccurate. Pat and I were arguing, one of my high heels gave out, and I fell into the side of a trashcan. On impact, I fractured my nose. False conclusions were made as a result. I hope our privacy will be respected.

Kelly Hofmann

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Elspeth Reeve