When Marco Rubio during Thursday’s Republican debate accused his rival candidate Chris Christie of backing Sonia Sotomayor’s appointment to the Supreme Court in 2009, the New Jersey governor was indignant, exclaiming, “First of all, I didn’t support Sonia Sotomayor.”

But the record says otherwise.

On July 17, 2009, Christie, who was then running against incumbent New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, issued a statement praising President Obama’s nominee for her “capability, competence and ability” and urging the Senate to confirm her.

“After watching and listening to Judge Sotomayor’s performance at the confirmation hearings this week, I am confident that she is qualified for the position of Associate Justice for the U.S. Supreme Court,” Christie said in the statement.

So how could Christie claim in Thursday night’s debate that he had never supported Sotomayor? His campaign points to an attack from New Jersey Democrats dated July 13, 2009. It accused Christie of taking a “hard-line stance” against Sotomayor, citing his comment in a Republican primary debate that Sotomayor “wouldn’t have been my choice” for the court.