Carter: Rice 'mistaken' about Hamas trip

ATLANTA, April 24 (UPI) -- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter denied in an Atlanta interview that his meeting with Hamas leaders had helped the militant group gain credibility.

Carter defended his visit which the White House roundly criticized and said it was the Palestinian people, not his trip, that legitimized Hamas by voting the group to lead their parliament.

The former president told USA Today that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was "mistaken" and "misinformed" when she said he was warned by the Bush administration to stay away from Hamas, which the U.S. government has branded a terrorist organization.

"I think she's being misinformed," Carter said. "I don't think Condoleezza is deliberately lying, but the statement she's making is false."

Carter, calling his nine-day trip a "fact-finding mission," said he doesn't consider himself "a mediator or negotiator.