Trump's national security pick had her book pulled by publisher over plagiarism allegations

HarperCollins is halting sales of Monica Crowley's book amid allegations of plagiarism, CNN's KFile reported on Tuesday. "The book, which has reached the end of its natural sales cycle, will no longer be offered for purchase until such time as the author has the opportunity to source and revise the material," the publisher said in

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HarperCollins is halting sales of Monica Crowley's book amid allegations of plagiarism, CNN's KFile reported on Tuesday.

"The book, which has reached the end of its natural sales cycle, will no longer be offered for purchase until such time as the author has the opportunity to source and revise the material," the publisher said in a statement to KFile, CNN's investigative team.

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Monica Crowley.

The move by HarperCollins came after a bombshell investigation published by KFile found over 50 places in Crowley's 2012 book, "What The (Bleep) Just Happened?" in which she appears to have copied language or sections of articles from columnists, think tanks, and Wikipedia.

According to the investigation, the book — a New York Times best-seller — "contains no notes or bibliography."

In one instance, Crowley, who was a Fox News contributor until she was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be the director of strategic communications for the National Security Council, lifted an entire section on Keynesian economics from a 2009 article published on Investopedia, according to KFile.

In another section, a passage in her book is almost a word-for-word copy of a 2010 Fox News article by James Rosen, according to KFile.

Here's what it says in Crowley's book, according to passages highlighted in the KFile investigation:

"She also said that she was only briefed once — in September 2002 — on the advanced interrogation methods.

"At the time, Pelosi was the House minority whip and top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. She said that CIA briefers told her that 'the use of enhanced interrogation techniques were legal' and added that waterboarding 'was not being employed.'"

Here's what Rosen's Fox News article says:

"Last year, Pelosi said she was only briefed once on the advanced interrogation methods, in September 2002.

"At the time, Pelosi was the House minority whip and top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. She said in May 2009 that CIA briefers told her that 'the use of enhanced interrogation techniques were legal,' and added that waterboarding 'was not being employed.'"

Crowley also plagiarized sections from at least five Wall Street Journal articles, according to KFile.

Here's a passage from her book, according to KFile:

"Meanwhile, GM's bondholders got screwed.

"GM had $27.2 billion in unsecured bonds owned by the public. These were owned by mutual funds, pension funds, hedge funds, and retail investors who bought them directly through their brokers. Under the restructuring deal, they were forced to exchange their $27.2 billion in bonds for 10 percent of the stock of the new GM. This amounted to less than five cents on the dollar."

Here's a passage from a 2009 Wall Street Journal article:

"The biggest losers here are GM's bondholders.

"According the Treasury-GM debt-for-equity swap announced Monday, GM has $27.2 billion in unsecured bonds owned by the public. These are owned by mutual funds, pension funds, hedge funds and retail investors who bought them directly through their brokers. Under Monday's offer, they would exchange their $27.2 billion in bonds for 10% of the stock of the restructured GM. This could amount to less than five cents on the dollar."

In another example from the investigation, Crowley appears to have copied a 2011 Journal article.

Here's the passage from her book, according to KFile:

"As the late great economist Milton Friedman pointed out, the true burden on taxpayers is government spending because government borrowing demands future interest payments out of future taxes."

And here's the snippet from a 2011 Journal article by Michael Boskin that passage seems to have come from:

"As Milton Friedman taught decades ago, the true burden on taxpayers today is government spending; government borrowing requires future interest payments out of future taxes."

The list compiled by KFile includes a number of other sources Crowley appears to have plagiarized, including The Associated Press, The New York Times, Yahoo News, National Review, the Heritage Foundation, Politico, USA Today, BBC, and others.

This isn't the first time Crowley has been accused of plagiarism.

An editorial feature she penned for The Wall Street Journal in 1999 was found to have "striking similarities in phraseology" to a 1988 article by Paul Johnson in Commentary magazine, The Journal said. It said in an editor's note published after the fact that "had we known of the parallels, we would not have published the article."

KFile said that multiple requests for comment from Crowley were not returned, but that the Trump team is standing by her.

"Monica's exceptional insight and thoughtful work on how to turn this country around is exactly why she will be serving in the administration," a transition team spokesperson told KFile in a statement. "HarperCollins — one of the largest and most respected publishers in the world — published her book which has become a national best-seller. Any attempt to discredit Monica is nothing more than a politically motivated attack that seeks to distract from the real issues facing this country."

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