After more than week of silence in the face of numerous plagiarism accusations, Monica Crowley spoke out Monday — not to address the allegations of plagiarism in her book, her PhD or her Washington Times columns, but to say that she wouldn’t take a job in the White House under Donald Trump. Trump announced her appointment last month.
Crowley gave a statement to the Washington Times saying she won’t be the National Security Council’s senior director of strategic communications, as planned. She didn’t reference the accusations against her. iMediaEthics has written to the Times to see if there is any update regarding its review of her work. Despite the evidence presented by CNN, it appeared that none of the articles in question carry editor’s notes. We also have tweeted Crowley for comment.
“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.”
The Washington Times story notes the allegations against Crowley’s book and PhD, and repeated the newspaper’s comments from last week that it would “review her work, though no charges of plagiarism were lodged against her during her time at the paper.” In Jan. 10 article, CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski reported that he found plagiarism in seven of Crowley’s columns for the Washington Times, where she was a columnist and online opinion editor.
“As a White House aide, Crowley would not have faced confirmation proceedings,” the Washington Post noted.