The recent “plagiarism scandal” surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris is far more serious than initially believed, according to Jonathan Bailey, a plagiarism consultant for the New York Times. While the Times admitted Monday that Harris had indeed plagiarized multiple passages from her 2009 book, Smart on Crime, they dismissed it as “not serious.” Some of the content lifted was taken from sources such as Wikipedia and the Associated Press.
The Harris campaign contradicted these claims on Tuesday, asserting that she did not plagiarize any part of her book. This stance is contrary to what had been stated by her allies in the media, including both the New York Times and The New Republic.
Bailey’s recent reassessment of the situation, based on a review of “a full dossier with additional allegations,” led him to backtrack from his original assessment in an article published by Plagiarism Today.
While there are problems with this work, the pattern points to sloppy writing habits, not a malicious intent to defraud.” He maintains that while it is problematic, “it’s also not the wholesale fraud that many have claimed it to be. It sits somewhere between what the two sides want it to be.
The 40-page document contains approximately 29 accusations (depending on how they are counted. Of these, eighteen focus on content from the book and another eleven pertain to alleged self-plagiarisms that occurred later on.
Bailey’s assessment also attempts to exonerate Harris by stating he agrees “passages represent plagiarism and are issues that need to be addressed,” but they are “relatively minor as far as plagiarism goes.” He dismissed the self-plagiarism allegations out of hand, noting “Politicians repeat themselves, and it’s not surprising to see them reuse words and passages.
Christopher Rufo, a conservative journalist, exposed the plagiarism based on research conducted by Dr. Stefan Weber, a respected Austrian expert on plagiarism. In response to this revelation, James Singer, spokesman for Harris’s campaign, accused “right-wing operatives” of being desperate as they see her building bipartisan support ahead of the election.
Vice President Harris has not been questioned about these allegations by either Fox News’s Bret Baier or Charlamagne tha God.