The New York Times reported this week that the Democratic super PAC American Bridge had discovered plagiarism in a real estate investing publication produced and used by Donald Trump’s Trump Institute in 2006. While Alan Garten, Trump’s attorney, said that “obviously” Trump was not aware of the plagiarism, there is evidence that Trump again used another’s work without attribution just recently: his campaign’s plan to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Trump’s relatively quick adoption of a plan he and his campaign did not write raises some questions as to the seriousness with which he views this issue.
On October 31 of last year, the Trump campaign produced a document outlining a plan to address problems at the scandal-ridden VA. The department has been plagued with accusations of shoddy service and long wait times for veterans seeking medical care. However, the plan as presented by Trump’s campaign appears to be taken in large part from one written by a Nevada businessman that was, according to him, distributed to a number of congressional offices earlier in October.
Trump’s three-page plan is laid out on his campaign website in a document entitled “Veterans Administration Reforms That Will Make America Great Again” that Trump himself previewed at a rally in Norfolk, Virginia. Based on news reports from the rally, the plan was not only new to the public, but perhaps to Trump himself as well. Trump often speaks off the cuff at rallies, but in this case, local station WAVY reported, “Trump was reading from prepared notes. He was not ad-libbing, but was giving a thoughtful plan to fix what he thinks is wrong with the VA system…”
Additionally, The Hill noted:
The reform plan proposed by Trump begins as follows:
However, a plan written by businessman and veteran Michael Crosby, president of Nevada-based Green Life Can LLC and a veterans reform advocate, is largely the same, often word-for-word. Crosby’s plan begins:
Crosby’s plan also includes a fourth point: “Outsource all care by enhancing the ‘Choice Program; and allocating more funds to the program to support the Veterans ability to choose their own care.” This point is not included in the Trump plan. However, the remainder of both Crosby’s and Trump’s plans are virtually identical, with phrases such as “any new administration” simply replaced with “the Trump administration.”
Although Crosby did not post his plan publicly (on LinkedIn) until March 25, 2016, he believes he knows how Trump came upon it. Crosby wrote in an interview, “I think it must have been through my distribution of the plan to all of the staff I know in Washington DC. In October / November sent it to all of the staff that support the Veterans Affairs committees in the Senate and the House.” Crosby said he “discussed it with the Senior Staff from most of the offices” and altogether sent the plan to “hundreds.” As noted, Trump released his plan on the last day of October 2015.
For his part, Crosby doesn’t have a problem with Trump using his plan. In fact, Crosby said he “was hoping that someone would pick it up and get it to Mr. Trump as I’m an avid supporter.” Crosby went further: “I’m honored that someone stole my ideas and is using them even without my name attached.” Crosby said he came up with the plan after his own bad experience with the VA medical center in Phoenix.
The Trump campaign has not responded to multiple requests for comment on the source of the plan and Crosby’s claim of authorship.
