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Several passages in Vice President Kamala Harris’ first book are found to have been lifted from primary sources without attribution, according to a new report from plagiarism hunters.
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, taking her political slogan from her campaign for district attorney and putting it into a national plan to the future of criminal justice reform.
Author and activist Christopher Russo posted details of the book on his Substack on Monday, citing famed Austrian “plagiarism hunter” Stefan Weber, who says he found more than a dozen plagiarism fragments.
Weber’s report shows that Harris copied verbatim content from Goodwill Industries, his partner in his ‘Back on Track’ anti-crime program, into the text of his book.
The cover of Kamala Harris’ first book, ‘Smart on Crime’, published in 2009
The report shows that Harris took an entire section of text from an Associated Press article published in April 2008 about low graduation rates.
In another section of the book, Harris included extensive sections of a press release from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice almost verbatim without attribution.
Another example includes language copied directly from a Bureau of Justice Assistance report on crime statistics in West Palm Beach.
“Not only did they obtain material from sources without proper attribution, but in at least one case, they relied on a low-quality source, potentially undermining the accuracy of their conclusion,” Rufo wrote.
The news prompted a response from former President Donald Trump’s campaign and running mate, Senator JD Vance.
‘Lmao Kamala didn’t even write her own book!’ he wrote, linking to the report.
‘Oh! More proof that Kamala Harris is a fraud!!!’ Donald Trump Jr. wrote on social media.
Harris’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Accusations of plagiarism can derail a political campaign by showing that the candidate is lazy or unserious.
Biden’s first presidential campaign in 1987 was derailed over accusations of plagiarism after he appeared to be copying phrases and gestures from a British Labor Party politician. He was also accused of plagiarism in law school.
Political figures often rely on ghostwriters to publish their first published works, but Harris’s image and author credit are used for the book, suggesting it should address the controversy.
Vice President Kamala Harris reacts upon departure at Pitt-Greenville Airport in Greenville, North Carolina
Rufo said Harris and his editor should retract the plagiarized passages in his book and issue a correction.
“There is nothing intelligent 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 examined the published works of prominent academic figures, including former Harvard president Claudine Gay, who resigned a month after accusations of plagiarism were published.
Gay was also widely criticized for her lackluster response to anti-Semitic protests and violence on campus.