But remember, these meetings were BEFORE we went to the UN

Raw Story is reporting that one of the questions asked at yesterday's joint press conference has been changed, and there is video to prove it.

But I'm stumped by Blair's defense:

Q Thank you, sir. On Iraq, the so-called Downing Street memo from July 2002 says intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy of removing Saddam through military action. Is this an accurate reflection of what happened? Could both of you respond?

PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: Well, I can respond to that very easily. No, the facts were not being fixed in any shape or form at all. And let me remind you that that memorandum was written before we then went to the United Nations.

Emphasis mine.

Can someone explain how this is a defense? Blair is stating that this memo, which says that the U.S. was fixing intelligence and facts around the policy of removing Saddam Hussein from power via military action, was written before they went to the United Nations....where they continued making what we now know was a deceptive case for war, fighting against weapons inspectors, etc. So is it really a defense to point out that they were planning to do this before they went to the U.N.? Help me out here, what am I missing?