From the Record Eagle article:
Last week, Vermetten denied that McManus had expressed an interest in the settlement meeting. When shown a copy of the his letter, Vermetten didn't offer an explanation."I don't know what it was; I candidly can't recall," Vermetten he said. "I know that (Clous) talked to Steve Williams in her office a great deal. They're both farmers." McManus later said Williams should not have offered her office's support to Clous, that he would be reprimanded, and that Williams no longer works with DEQ-related matters. "I did not do that and if my staff implied that I wanted him there, that was wrong," she said.