Several passages in Vice President Kamala Harris’ first book are found to have been lifted from Wikipedia and other sources without attribution, according to a bombshell new report.
Harris published her first book ‘Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer’ in 2009, with co-author Joan O’C Hamilton.
It took a political slogan from her campaign for district attorney and attempted to make it into a nationwide plan for the future of criminal justice reform.
Author and activist Christopher Russo published details of the book on his Substack on Monday, citing famous Austrian ‘plagiarism hunter’ Stefan Weber, who says he found more than a dozen fragments of plagiarism.
Weber’s report shows that Harris copied verbatim content from Wikipedia, Goodwill Industries, her partner on her ‘Back on Track’ crime program, and other online sources.
The cover of Kamala Harris’ first book ‘Smart on Crime’ published in 2009
The report shows that Harris lifted an entire section of text from an Associated Press story published in April 2008 about low graduation rates.
In another section of the book, Harris included extensive sections from a John Jay College of Criminal Justice press release nearly verbatim without attribution.
The plagiarism hunter made a side-by-side comparison, showing Harris lifted part of her book from Wikipedia without properly citing the online encyclopedia as her source.
Another example includes language copied directly from a Bureau of Justice Assistance report on crime statistics of West Palm Beach.
‘They not only lifted material from sources without proper attribution, but in at least one case, relied on a low-quality source, which potentially undermined the accuracy of their conclusion,’ Rufo wrote.
The news triggered a response from former President Donald Trump’s campaign and running mate Sen. J.D. Vance.
‘Lmao Kamala didn’t even write her own book!’ he wrote, linking to the report.
‘Yikes! More evidence that Kamala Harris is a fraud!!!’ Wrote Donald Trump Jr. on social media.
The Harris campaign did not return a request for comment.
Plagiarism accusations can derail a political campaign, as it demonstrates cadidate that is lazy or unserious.
Biden’s first presidential campaign in 1987 was derailed by plagiarism accusations after he appeared to be copying phrases and mannerisms from a British Labour Party politician. He was also accused of plagiarism in law school.
Political figures typically rely on ghostwriters to publish their first published works, but Harris’ image and author credit is used for the book, suggesting she should address the controversy.
Vice President Kamala Harris reacts upon departure at Pitt-Greenville Airport in Greenville, North Carolina
Rufo said that Harris and her publisher should retract the plagiarized passages from her book and issue a correction.
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‘There is nothing smart about plagiarism, which is the equivalent of an academic crime,’ he concluded.
Harris’ first book kicked off her first national media tour as she raised her political profile as she prepared to run for Attorney General of California.
Rufo has scrutinized the published work of prominent academic figures, including former Harvard President Claudine Gay, who resigned a month after allegations of plagiarism were published.
Gay was also widely criticized for her lackluster response to anti-semitic protests and violence on campus.