By Melissa Quinn

Updated Monday, 10:36 a.m.

Despite Patrick Moran’s, son of U.S. Rep Jim Moran (D-8), guilty plea in a District of Columbia court last Wednesday, Moran stands by his claim that girlfriend Kelly Hofmann’s heel broke, causing her to smash her head into a trash can outside of a Columbia Heights night club last Saturday night.

In an email to the Times, Moran said he “takes strong issue with the off-duty, plain-clothed MPD officer’s description of what occurred.” Moran apologized to the officer, to whom he was “intolerably disrespectful to,” and attributed much of the incident to his level of alcohol consumption.

” The way in which I acted to her was entirely unacceptable, and I should have been far more protective of her physical welfare that night than I was,” Moran said in the email. “For that, I could not be more sorry.”

Two officers stationed outside of the nightclub originally accused Moran of assaulting Hofmann, who suffered a broken nose and a skull fracture after Moran allegedly smashed her head into the cage surrounding the trash can. Moran was subsequently arrested on charges of domestic violence and assault.

Congressman Moran’s office has since spoken out against the incident, calling the situation “embarrassing.”

In a statement issued from the congressman’s office, Hofmann claimed her injuries were not intentional – a statement Moran stands by. In his email, Moran extended an apology not only to the police officer, but to his family, friends and Hofmann as well.

“I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to my family and friends and in particular Kelly for putting them in this situation and all of the negative attention that has been brought upon them as a result,” he said. “They deserve better from me.”

Patrick Moran, son of U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8), has pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend after a late night argument outside of a Washington nightclub earlier this month despite differing accounts of the incident.

A Metro police officer and an Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration investigator saw the Arlington man grab his girlfriend – Kelly Hofmann – by the back of her head and slam it into a trash can outside of a Columbia Heights hotspot at 1:23 a.m. December 1, according to a police report.

The lawmen said Hofmann was left bleeding from her nose. Medical responders, taking her to Howard University Hospital for treatment, believed she suffered a broken nose and fractured skull, according to the report.

But Jim Moran’s office disagreed with the description, calling the incident an accident. Spokeswoman Anne Hughes told the Washington City Paper’s Will Sommer the couple hopes the “embarrassing” situation can be put behind them.

“The situation was an accident,” said she wrote in an email. “Patrick didn’t hit or shove her.”

Hughes also questioned the police report, saying Moran and Hofmann were the sole witnesses to the incident.

“In that sense, their statements are the only ones that matter,” she told Sommer.

Moran pleaded guilty to the charges Wednesday morning and received probation. When news of his plea broke, Hofmann came forward to tell reporters her injuries were the result of a broken heel.

“Pat and I were arguing, one of my heels gave out, and I fell onto the side of a trash can,” she said in a statement released by the congressman’s office. “On impact, I fractured my nose.”

A Washington, D.C., Superior Court judge suspended Moran’s 90-day jail term, instead sentencing him to one year’s probation, the Washington Post reported. He also was ordered to complete domestic violence counseling and 50 hours of community service.

Hofmann attempted to get the charges dropped, but the prosecutor’s office declined.

Moran made headlines in October when he was caught on tape allegedly discussing committing voter fraud with an undercover member of James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas. Then field director for his father’s re-election campaign, Moran resigned after the conservative activist released the video on the Internet.

That incident remains under investigation by Arlington police and Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.