The Monica Crowley Book What The (Bleep) Just Happened was pulled from the shelves today by HarperCollins after accusations of plagiarism were made against the book and its author. It is reported by CNN that Crowley, who had been nominated by Trump to be senior director of strategic communications at the NSC, is now also under a cloud for having allegedly plagiarized major portions of her Columbia University Ph.D. dissertation.

The search now begins for something Monica Crowley wrote that WASN'T plagiarized. https://t.co/AduUpySNVC — Timothy Noah (@TimothyNoah1) January 10, 2017

As noted by the Associated Press, on Saturday it was alleged that large sections of Crowley’s book What The (Bleep) Just Happened were lifted in whole or in part from online columns, articles, and even Wikipedia. This Monica Crowley book became a bestseller for HarperCollins, which makes their subsequent decision to pull the book from the shelves following these plagiarism accusations all the more embarrassing.

These allegations about Crowley’s HarperCollins book and her Ph.D. dissertation are hardly the first time she has been accused of plagiarism. In 1999, an article that Crowley published in the Wall Street Journal was found to be comprised of text virtually identical to a 1988 article by Paul Johnson.

hmmm plagiarism and national security. not a good pair. ⚡️ “HarperCollins pulls Monica Crowley's book ”https://t.co/ompgvTM28i — alicia johnson (@ajonbrand) January 10, 2017

Trump Responds to Monica Crowley Book Scandal

The Trump transition team did what it usually does when accusations – such as the ones about election rigging and Russian connections – surface in the media. It ignored the evidence and attacked the messenger. A Trump spokesperson said the following about the situation with Crowley’s HarperCollins book.

HarperCollins – one of the largest and most respected publishers in the world – published her book which has become a national best-seller. Any attempt to discredit Monica is nothing more than a politically motivated attack that seeks to distract from the real issues facing this country.

Logically speaking, this idea that you should believe something because an authoritative source like HarperCollins is behind it is called an “appeal to authority” and is considered a fallacy. But Donald Trump and logical fallacies are old friends, so it’s hardly surprising this would be his defense of the apparent Monica Crowley book plagiarism.

Unfortunately for Donald Trump and his increasingly beleaguered transition team, HarperCollins cut the legs out from under Trump’s argument with the following statement in which it removed What The (Bleep) Just Happened from its offerings.

“The book, which has reached the end of its natural sales cycle, will no longer be offered for purchase until such time as the author has the opportunity to source and revise the material.”

While it was unfortunate that HarperCollins failed to catch these indications of plagiarism in the book before its original publication, the fact that the otherwise well-respected publisher is pulling the book off shelves indicates they recognize plagiarism when they see it.

Trump Withdrawal of Monica Crowley

A traditional President-elect would – in light of a plagiarism scandal involving one of his nominees for a position of great importance – withdraw that candidate and substitute someone else. But Donald Trump is far from a traditional anything.

Donald Trump shouting to followers. Unlikely to bring up the Monica Crowley book plagiarism with them.[Image by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images]

Given that he’s already weathered personal scandals that would have driven most men into exile – from the audio of him advocating “p***y grabbing” to speeches in which he called for Russia to hack the United States election process – Trump may well decide he can ride this one out as well.

And he may be right not to withdraw Crowley as his nominee. It’s not as if the Republican-controlled Senate is likely to reject any of his proposed nominees for any position. Trump’s already proposed Rick Perry – an energy secretary who wants to shut down the Energy Department – and a Secretary of State – Rex Tillerson – who has received awards and commendations from Vladimir Putin. So the Monica Crowley book plagiarism scandal might seem fairly insignificant by comparison.

[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]