Republican foreign policy adviser Monica Crowley won’t be joining Donald Trump’s team after all.
The president-elect had originally plucked Crowley to serve as a communications director at the National Security Council under Gen. Michael Flynn. But the Washington Times reported Monday that Crowley would forgo the role at least in part because of a plagiarism scandal.
CNN reported earlier in January that Crowley had boosted dozens of passages in her 2012 book, What the (Bleep) Just Happened, from other columnists and news stories without credit. Her publisher, HarperCollins, later pulled the book, and Politico reported that Crowley had also lifted others’ writing for her 2000 dissertation at Columbia University.
In a statement to the Washington Times, Crowley said she would not be headed to the NSC, though she did not mention the plagiarism reports.
“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 said. “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 Trump transition team did not immediately respond to an email from The Huffington Post seeking to confirm the report.
Crowley worked as an assistant to former President Richard Nixon in the 1990s, later becoming an editor at the Washington Times and a columnist for other publications.
Flynn told the Washington Times that “the NSC will miss the opportunity to have Monica Crowley as part of our team. We wish her all the best in her future.”