Monica Crowley will not be joining Donald Trump’s administration after all, she announced Monday.
“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,” she said in a statement obtained by the Washington Post. “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.”
Crowley, a former Fox News contributor, was selected to serve as senior director of strategic communications at the National Security Council, where she would have reported to National Security Adviser Michael T. Flynn.
“The NSC will miss the opportunity to have Monica Crowley as part of our team. We wish her all the best in her future,” the retired Army lieutenant general said in a statement.
Her decision comes after her written work has come under fire for plagiarism. A CNN KFile review found at least 50 examples of plagiarism from multiple sources in her 2012 book “What The (Bleep) Just Happened,” a New York Times bestseller which does not contain attributions of any kind.
As TheWrap previously reported, publisher HarperCollins has decided to stop selling the book.
“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,” HarperCollins said in a statement.
Trump’s transition team defended Crowley when the plagiarism allegations surfaced earlier this month.
“Monica’s exceptional insight and thoughtful work on how to turn this country around is exactly why she will be serving in the Administration,” the transition team said in a statement. “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.”