In an exchange with high school students allegedly caught on tape, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4) stumbled over a question about whether children would be better off in orphanages than with LGBT families, according to a report in the Washington Blade.

Smith made the remarks May 29 when addressing student constituents in the auditorium of Colts Neck High School, according to the Blade.

“They asked the congressman about his opposition to adoption by same-sex couples, according to a source familiar with the recording. A source familiar with the tape, who delivered the recording on Monday exclusively to the Washington Blade, said it was obtained in recent days.”

For the full story and the recording, please go here.

Smith’s office later put out a statement, saying the Blade recording is only partial, and released the full recording, as per a Politico report:“Anybody can twist your words and make false representations when they splice up a tape,” Smith said in a statement that accompanied the longer recording his office released. “It is despicable that someone thought they could score political points by distorting the truth and raising false questions about my record and the full range of topics discussed at the [high school] assembly.

According to Politico, later in the discussion when a student asked Smith if he thought orphanages would be in the better interests of the child, the congressman said, “No. Lord, no,” and explained how he’s “very aggressively pro-adoption.”