Scott, Susan Hassett not crediting you with proper citation would be quite annoying. But that does not negate the fact that Hasselbeck likely did plagiarize Hassett's book to some extent, as noted by the judge. At the end of the day - money talks. (Examine the Seinfeld case.) One noticeable oversight in your update here is regarding the judge who noted that Elisabeth likely did plagiarize a number of passages. That is something that should not be overlooked. (You may not have come across that fact when reading the news about this.) But I did. She may not have copied shamelessly; she may have copied without fully understanding plagiarism. Her background is in art not writing. Perhaps she provided her ghostwriter with some "notes", so the ghostwriter would have had no idea regarding the source of such ideas. So, I do not fault Hasselbeck's ghostwriter.

The idea of anonymous ghostwriting is distasteful. Elisabeth's "age" places her into a generation of shameless copycats, including so called "respected" and "professional" journalists caught red-handed. As well, people who do not have a background in writing may not understand what plagiarism entails: it's NOT just copying someone word for word. Well known facts aside, if one gathers their idea from someone else, or organizes their ideas in a particular way, a writer has to provide citation. I've read so many comments that demonstrates to me - as a writer - that people do not fully understand plagiarism.


I recall things Elisabeth has said over the years which indicates to me that copying someone else is NOT beyond her realm of possibilities; her opinion on shamelessly copying another's fashion design is not a problem for her. But fashion for me is far different than one's personal writing. My own personal experience with Elisabeth's suspected approach to "copying" another's writing, which I won't divulge here, was particularly troubling. But it is why this case did not surprise me in the least.