Monica Crowley, plagiarist picked to join Donald Trump's national security team, bows out

Crowley won't be overseeing speeches about national security

Published January 16, 2017 6:23PM (EST)

Monica Crowley smiles as she exits the elevator in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016. President-elect Donald Trump announced Crowley as senior director of Strategic Communications for the National Security Council. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (AP)
Monica Crowley smiles as she exits the elevator in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016. President-elect Donald Trump announced Crowley as senior director of Strategic Communications for the National Security Council. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (AP)

Monica Crowley, the political commentator and Donald Trump fan who was picked to join his national security team, is declining the job, according to reports.

After taking the position, Crowley's history of plagiarizing came to light. As CNN noted in investigations, Crowley lifted passages from scholarly works throughout her adult life.

"After much reflection I have decided to remain in New York to pursue other opportunities and will not be taking a position in the incoming administration," Crowley told the Washington Times. "I greatly appreciate being asked to be part of President-elect Trump's team and I will continue to enthusiastically support him and his agenda for American renewal."

Crowley came under fire for chronically lifting passages from other people's work, Salon reported last week.

While a candidate for an international relations Ph.D. at Columbia University in 2000, Crowley plagiarized multiple sections of her dissertation titled “Clearer Than Truth: Determining and Preserving Grand Strategy: The Evolution of American Policy Toward the People’s Republic of China Under Truman and Nixon.” Her thesis is kept on microfilm at the University of Michigan and accessible through the academic database ProQuest.

Crowley's plagiarism was on display in more than 50 instances in her 2012 book alone, according to a CNN investigation, which led the outlet to look into her dissertation.

The pundit was going to serve under Retired Gen. Michael Flynn. Flynn and Crowley shared more than simply a national security bent: Crowley tweeted in June that "Putin is going to have to" leak Hillary Clinton's emails, while Flynn has had close ties to Russia recently.

Ironically, Crowley was in a position where she would be responsible for overseeing speeches, which is something that you don't want a plagiarizer to be in charge of doing.


By Jeremy Binckes

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Donald Trump Michael Flynn Monica Crowley National Security Plagiarism