A columnist for The Washington Times will take a three-month leave of absence from the newspaper while editors assess his work following accusations of plagiarism. On Tuesday, the newspaper published a statement announcing Arnaud de Borchgrave’s hiatus. His column is published weekly in the newspaper and distributed by the United Press International. Ed Kelley, an editor at The Times, says accusations about de Borchgrave’s work “require attention.”
Salon.com and The Washington Post have published articles quoting passages from de Borchgrave’s work that appear to have been reportedly taken without attribution from other published material. Borchgrave, 85, served as editor of The Times from 1985-1991 and writes about foreign affairs. In a statement to The Associated Press last week, Borchgrave said, “If I dropped a few quote marks inadvertently, mea culpa. Everyone makes mistakes.”
