Plagiarism expert says Harris's book 'sloppy to the point of negligence,' not 'malicious'

Plagiarism expert Jonathan Bailey on Tuesday addressed accusations that Vice President Kamala Harris plagiarized sections of her 2009 book, saying the book contains "sloppy" and negligent writing.

German plagiarism watchdog Stefan Weber first uncovered that Harris may have lifted several sections of text in "Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor's Plan to Make Us Safer" from other sources without giving proper attribution. Conservative activist Christopher Rufo outlined those findings in a post via X, which Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, reposted.

"Lmao Kamala didn't even write her own book!" Sen. Vance wrote. "I wrote my own book, unlike Kamala Harris, who copied hers from Wikipedia."

Bailey said he reviewed Weber's complete report and found that though the book did not contain "a malicious intent to defraud," it showcased sections of "sloppy writing habits."

"The most serious allegation concerns Wikipedia," Bailey wrote. "Harris's book contained roughly two paragraphs copied from Wikipedia without citation. To be clear, that is plagiarism. It's compounded by the fact that Wikipedia is typically not seen as a reliable source, and, according to Weber, there was an error in the information."

Harris and her co-author, he wrote, likely did not intend to pass off the work of others as their own, but simply made poor decisions which long went unnoticed.

Though some of the passages, such as the Wikipedia one, are sloppy to the point of negligence, when you look at the portion of the book involved, the nature of the issues, and the citations provided, negligence remains more likely than malice in my eyes," he added.

Bailey concluded with recommendations for Harris, noting the situation is complex given the political motivations of those raising the concerns.

"Though outright dismissal, in my eye, isn't warranted, neither is a more drastic response," he said. "Ultimately, I recognize that this view will make absolutely no one happy. I don't feel that the book is a product of wholesale malicious plagiarism, nor do I think it's free from problems. No matter your side, this will be an unsatisfactory answer."

Plagiarism accusations notably hurt President Joe Biden's first White House bid in 1987. Similar allegations leveled against former Harvard President Claudine Gay in 2023 proceeded her decision to resign the position, making her the shortest-tenured head administrator in the school's history.

The Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment from The National News Desk.