But he should have the benefit of the doubt and not to be accused of anything more than "why didn't you ask for a correction?"

邓 may have asked, and may know that in the eyes of the Ed dept, his collaborator did not get the award, but he felt he had no "criminal intent" and played it fairly in his part. That is why he emphasized on his behavior and intend and avoided explaining why the ED dept document has only one name. Again, this is speculation and 邓 should have the benefit of the doubt.

I was once given a small award by surprise for a presentation with several co-authors (I did not even know the award existed before hand). After I got the award, I asked the issuer if my co-authors got the same awards and why not. They said it was only given to the first author and presenter by rule. I had no difficulty in splitting the money with my co-authors but did not tell my co-authors that they did not get the award because they were not the first author nor the presenter in fear of hurting their feeling.