Kamala Harris’ book publisher forwards “very sensitive” plagiarism questions to superiors

The publisher of Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2009 book on criminal justice reform is forwarding “very sensitive” requests for apparently plagiarized passages to the highest levels, according to the conservative activist who uncovered the copy.

Manhattan Institute senior staffer Christopher Rufo — who first revealed the plagiarism allegations on Monday — released screenshots of leaked internal emails in which he ordered Chronicle Books publicity staff not to immediately respond to press inquiries about “Smart on Crime.”

Lauren Hoffman, Chronicle executive director of marketing and public relations, asked that all inquiries be referred to her, with an employee emphasizing in the email chain that the allegations involve “a very sensitive subject.”

“Kamala Harris’ publisher, Chronicle Books, is in damage control mode,” Rufo cheered on X. “They know Kamala lied. You know we know Kamala lied. In America, plagiarism has become a moral pillar of the regime – and they will slander anyone who notices.”

Rufo published five examples from the book in which passages almost matched or were identical to wording in press reports, scientific studies and even a Wikipedia entry – all pre-publications of the book.

The allegedly plagiarized sections come from a 2000 Bureau of Justice Assistance report, a 2004 Urban Institute report, a John Jay College of Criminal Justice press release describing a 2007 award, a Associated Press article from 2008 and the wording of a Wikipedia article in a 2008 iteration.

In a statement to Semafor, Harris’ campaign dismissed the plagiarism allegations as efforts by “right-wing activists” who are “increasingly desperate” as the election approaches.

Harris campaign spokesman James Singer told Semafor in a statement Monday: “This is a book that has been published for 15 years, and the Vice President has clearly cited sources and statistics in footnotes and endnotes throughout.”

Two of the five examples cited the source material in footnotes – but none put the elevated wording in quotation marks. The Urban Institute report was not cited at all.

Rufo boasted that his team’s investigation was aided by Austrian “plagiarism hunter” Stefan Weber, who helped compile a full report that included more than a dozen “malicious fragments of plagiarism” from the Democratic candidate.

The accusation of having copied the sources word for word apparently also surprised Harris’ ghostwriter.

“Oh God,” Joan O’C. Hamilton told the Post in a brief phone call on Monday. “I have not seen anything. …I’m afraid I can’t talk to you right now, but I’m in the middle of something. Let me try to figure this out.”

It’s unclear whether the plagiarism allegations will influence voters before they go to the polls on Nov. 5.

President Biden dropped out of his presidential bid in 1987 after stealing phrases directly from Britain’s Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock – but the scandal wasn’t enough to keep him from entering the White House decades later.

Neither Hoffman nor the Harris campaign immediately responded to a request for comment.