National Security Council member steals words
President-elect Trump and his transition team stand by Crowley during this time. On December 15th, Crowley was announced to join Trump’s team as the director strategic communications of the National Security Council. In the past, Crowley has served in foreign policy for former President Richard Nixon.
Yet another one of president-elect Donald Trump’s picks has come under the fire of criticism. On January 7, one of the National Security Council picks, Monica Crowley, has been accused of plagiarism in many instances in her book, “What the (Bleep) Just Happened?”
According to a report by CNN Money, a review of the New York Times Bestsellers List has found up to 50 counts of plagiarism. They originate from multiple sources such as other columnists, news articles, think tanks, and online encyclopedias.
CNN Money highlights the similarities in passages from Crowley’s book and the sources from which she has allegedly plagiarized. () In these, many of Crowley’s lines are seen to be lifted from the other sources verbatim or with minor adjustments. Yet in her book, Crowley fails to list a bibliography, footnotes, or any type of citation at all.
This is not the only time Crowley has been denounced for copying the words of others.
In 1999, Slate reported the resemblance between Crowley’s editorial and an article in the Commentary.
The Wall Street Journal, which published her editorial, released an editor’s note that said, “There are striking similarities in phraseology between ‘The Day Richard Nixon Said Goodbye,’ an editorial feature Monday by Monica Crowley, and a 1988 article by Paul Johnson in Commentary magazine … Had we known of the parallels, we would not have published the article.”
Additionally, in light of recent events, Politico Magazine found cases of plagiarism in Crowley’s PhD dissertation. Although she does provide some citations for her work, Crowley still appears to violate the Columbia University, where she got her Ph.D, definition of “Unintentional and Intentional Plagiarism.”
“I believe that the usage of plagiarism to obtain her Ph.D not only indicates lack of actual knowledge in her field, but also shows traits of dishonesty, lack of integrity, and deliberate fraud of another’s work,” said Teddy Weng, 10.
Despite the unfavorable evidence facing Crowley, Trump’s transition team is avidly defending her and her appointment as part of the National Security Council.
“Any attempt to discredit Monica is nothing more than a politically motivated attack that seeks to distract from the real issues facing this country,” said the team’s spokesperson to CNN Money.
Crowley herself has yet to comment on these recent allegations.
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