DHS Hopeful David Clarke Denies Plagiarism of Thesis on Homeland Security

Reportedly Plagiarized from the ACLU, Pew Research Center and George W. Bush’s Book

Following David Clarke’s announcement that he had been tapped to join the Trump administration as assistant secretary in the Department of Homeland Security, reports soon surfaced that the controversial Milwaukee County Sheriff had plagiarized parts of his master’s thesis on U.S. security.

According to CNN, Clarke failed to attribute his sources “at least 47 times,” and did not “indicate with quotation marks that he [was] taking the words verbatim,” something the guidelines of the Naval Postgraduate School’s website cites as plagiarism.

Following the reports, Clarke’s thesis was removed from the Naval Postgraduate School’s website:

CNN further reported that the sources Clarke plagiarized included various ACLU reports, the 9/11 Commission Report, the Pew Research Center, an article from The Washington Post and even George W. Bush’s book, “Decision Points.”

Now, in an email to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Clarke has denied the claims, advising that “only someone with a political agenda would say this is plagiarism.”

Lt. Cmdr. Clint Phillips, a spokesman for the Naval Postgraduate School, told The Associated Press that “[he couldn’t comment on the status of [Clarke’s] degree or even on the status of the thesis at this point.”

Sheriff Clarke, an extremely vocal supporter of Donald Trump, called for “rage then revolt” following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality. He’s urged citizens to arm themselves and shoot those that they felt threatened by, calling the police only after potentially killing someone. There have also been four deaths in Clarke’s jail, including that of a baby.

The Department of Homeland Security has not confirmed his appointment.

 

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Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license