Monica Crowley Accused of Plagiarism; Book Sales Suspended

The publisher of Monica Crowley’s 2012 anti-Obama book said Tuesday that it is halting sales of the book, pending the “opportunity” for Crowley to revise her text. Crowley is accused of plagiarizing numerous passages in the volume.

Crowley, a syndicated talk show host who frequently appears on Fox News, was recently chosen by Trump to serve as director of communications at the White House’s National Security Council.

On Tuesday, HarperCollins announced that the book and its 2013 updated edition will “no longer be offered for purchase until such time as the author has the opportunity to source and revise the material.”

Both editions have the same basic material, but the 2013 book includes a new foreword, in which Crowley responds to Obama’s re-election.

CNN first reported over the weekend that Crowley appeared to have plagiarized large sections of her book. Their review found more than 50 examples of apparent plagiarism from sources that include news articles and Wikipedia.

Trump’s transition team came to Crowley’s defense, dismissing the allegation as “nothing more than a politically motivated attack that seeks to distract from the real issues facing this country.”

Politico Magazine published evidence this week suggesting Crowley had also plagiarized several sections of her doctoral dissertation at Columbia University. The publication found more than a dozen instances in which Crowley appeared to lift from other works without providing proper attribution.

Transition officials have not responded to questions about the allegations regarding Crowley’s academic work or HarperCollins’ decision to suspend sales of her book.

Crowley also faced plagiarism allegations in 1999 after a piece she wrote on the 25th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s resignation ran in The Wall Street Journal.

A few days later, The Journal noted: “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.”

HarperCollins is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Murdoch has been critical of Trump in the past, tweeting in 2015, “When is Donald Trump going to stop embarrassing his friends, let alone the whole country?” But the two have apparently become closer. On Monday, Trump tweeted, “Rupert Murdoch is a great guy who likes me much better as a very successful candidate than he ever did as a very successful developer!”