Oops!
Coulter columns subject of plagiarism investigation
By Hillel Italie
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — The syndicator of Ann Coulter's newspaper column is looking into allegations that the right-wing pundit has lifted material from other sources.
"We are reviewing the material and expect to have a response some time next week," Kathie Kerr, a spokeswoman for Universal Press Syndicate, said Friday.
The New York Post and the Web sites Raw Story and the Rude Pundit have raised numerous questions about Coulter's columns, which appear in more than 100 newspapers, and her best-selling "Godless," already notorious for the author's calling four 9/11 widows, who supported Democrat John Kerry for president in 2004, "harpies" thriving on their husbands' demise.
Kerr said that the press syndicate had not discussed the allegations with Coulter, who was not available for comment Friday. The publisher of "Godless," the Crown Publishing Group, issued a statement saying it had reviewed the "the allegations of plagiarism" in her book and "found them to be as trivial and meritless as they are irresponsible."
"As an experienced author and attorney, Ms. Coulter knows when attribution is appropriate, as underscored by the 19 pages and hundreds of endnotes contained in 'Godless,' " said Crown's senior vice president and publisher, Steve Ross.
Coulter's career has rarely suffered despite numerous questions about her accuracy and her scathing remarks about political opponents. An exception was in 2001, soon after the Sept. 11 attacks, when Coulter was fired by the conservative National Review Online for writing about the hijackers: "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."
seattletimes.nwsource.com |
