Vice President Kamala Harris faces allegations of plagiarism in her 2009 book Smart on Crime, co-authored with Joan O’C Hamilton. The claims, brought to light on Monday by “plagiarism hunter” Dr. Stefan Weber and activist Christopher Rufo, suggest Harris copied sections from sources like Wikipedia, news articles, and academic reports without proper attribution.
Notably, Harris is accused of fabricating a source reference and copying directly from a Wikipedia article, among other sources.
According to Rufo, even in instances in which sources were named in footnotes, proper quotations were not provided for text directly lifted from other works. Still others, like a 2004 Urban Institute report, were wholly uncredited in the book.
EXCLUSIVE: Kamala Harris plagiarized at least a dozen sections of her criminal-justice book, Smart on Crime, according to a new investigation. The current vice president even lifted material from Wikipedia.
We have the receipts. 🧵
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) October 14, 2024
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The allegations have triggered reactions from political figures, including critical remarks from Sen. JD Vance, who quipped “Hi, I’m JD Vance. I wrote my own book, unlike Kamala Harris, who copied hers from Wikipedia.”
Hi, I'm JD Vance. I wrote my own book, unlike Kamala Harris, who copied hers from Wikipedia. https://t.co/tkZvK8LrI3
— JD Vance (@JDVance) October 14, 2024
“Yikes!” said Donald Trump Jr. in response to Rufo’s expose. “More evidence that Kamala Harris is a fraud!!!”
Yikes! More evidence that Kamala Harris is a fraud!!! https://t.co/Js1s58iuaZ
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 14, 2024
The Harris campaign has not responded to requests for comments on these accusations.
The controversy echoes past political plagiarism scandals, such as those that impacted Joe Biden’s 1988 presidential campaign. Rufo was also closely involved in exposing plagiarism that led to the dismissal of former Harvard President Claudine Gay last year.
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