‘Plagiarism Hunter’’s recent sniffs has accused Vice President Kamala Harris of plagiarizing significant portions of her criminal justice book, Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer.
According to an investigation by journalist Christopher Rufo, Harris allegedly copied content from various sources without proper attribution, including from Wikipedia, wires, press releases, and reports. This revelation could serve as an “October surprise” as the 2024 presidential election nears.
Rufo claims that Harris “plagiarized at least a dozen sections of her criminal-justice book, Smart on Crime,” and further alleges that “the current vice president even lifted material from Wikipedia.”
Rufo’s investigation involved the expertise of Stefan Weber, a renowned “plagiarism hunter” who has exposed similar infractions by politicians in the German-speaking world. Weber reportedly found over a dozen instances of “vicious plagiarism fragments” in Harris’ book, where text was copied without citation.
Harris allegedly plagiarized at least 12 sections in her book
One of the most notable examples includes a section of the book that appears to have been lifted directly from a press release issued by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Harris reportedly used the language verbatim in her book without providing credit or citation. Similarly, she is accused of copying a report from NBC News on high school graduation rates, again failing to give proper attribution.
Rufo wrote, “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.”
Back in 2008, when Harris was writing Smart on Crime, she is said to have copied language from the Wikipedia article almost word for word, including a factual error that was present on the page at the time. Smart on Crime reportedly contains material lifted from a Bureau of Justice Assistance report on crime statistics for West Palm Beach.
“There is nothing smart about plagiarism, which is the equivalent of an academic crime,” Rufo concluded.
These plagiarism claims quickly triggered reactions from political opponents
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign and running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, seized on the news to criticize Harris, tweeting, “Lmao Kamala didn’t even write her own book!”. Donald Trump Jr. also chimed in, writing, “Yikes! More evidence that Kamala Harris is a fraud!!!”
