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Ben Domenech

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Ben Domenech (born December 31, 1981, Jackson, Mississippi) [1] is a conservative blogger who co-founded the RedState group blog. In March 2006, he was hired to write a conservative blog for washingtonpost.com but resigned [2] after three days amid allegations of plagiarism during his college years, to which he later confessed.

Domenech, who wrote for RedState under the pseudonym "Augustine,"[3] was hired by the Washington Post's online arm to write a blog providing "a daily mix of commentary, analysis and cultural criticism."[4] The blog, "Red America", launched on 2006-03-21. Domenech resigned 2006-03-24 after other bloggers posted evidence that he had plagiarized work from writers at The Dallas Morning News, The Washington Post, National Review Online, Cox News Service , and Salon, as well as that of humorist P. J. O'Rourke and several amateur film critics.

Upbringing

Domenech's father is Puerto Rican[5] and his mother is Dutch-Irish[6]. He is the son of Doug Domenech, who has been appointed as White House Liaison for the Department of the Interior[7]. He was home schooled by his mother (and by correspondence for his last three years of high school)[8]; he attended the College of William and Mary between 1999 and 2002 but did not graduate [9].

Career

Domenech claims to have been the "youngest political appointee" of the George W. Bush administration,[10] though it is unclear to which position this refers. He has worked as a contributing editor for National Review Online; a speechwriter for Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and two years as the chief speechwriter for Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX); and an editor at Regnery Publishing, where he worked on Michelle Malkin's book Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild, and Hugh Hewitt's book Painting the Map Red.[11] He was also apparently editor for the new book by Ramesh Ponnuru, The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life. [12]

The Washington Post had been criticized for hiring him.[13] One line of criticism held that the Post should not have hired a non-journalist conservative partisan blogger—or at least, not without hiring a non-journalist liberal partisan blogger. Another line focused on Domenech's previous writings, including a recent condemnation of deceased civil rights activist Coretta Scott King as a "Communist." (on RedState.org, he wrote, "The President visits the funeral of a Communist. And phones in a message to the March for Life. I think we can get a little pissed about this." [14]) Domenech also was criticized for a post [15] quoting from a First Things article by Richard John Neuhaus [16] about Freakonomics and abortion. Ramesh Ponnuru defended Domenech's statement on The Corner at the National Review. [17]

Plagiarism

Allegations of plagiarism against Domenech arose March 23, 2006, shortly after he began blogging for the Washington Post.

Domenech was first accused of appropriating a chapter from O'Rourke's 1990 book "Modern Manners" for an editorial in The Flat Hat, a weekly student newspaper at William and Mary.[18] O'Rourke denied Domenech's claim that the humorist had granted permission to use his words, adding that he couldn't recall ever meeting the college student. [19]

Blogs Eschaton and Daily Kos soon posted links to movie reviews of Bringing Out the Dead, The Bachelor, and The World Is Not Enough written by Domenech for the same student paper. The reviews appear to be taken nearly verbatim from reviews published by Salon.com and an amateur Usenet reviewer named Steve Rhodes.

The Flat Hat investigated and eventually concluded that the paper had published 35 articles by Domenech, including 10 with suspicious similarities to works by other authors, including ones by National Review editor Jonah Goldberg. [20] [21] [22] Commenters at Daily Kos also uncovered two examples of plagiarism in reviews written by Domenech for the National Review Online in 2000 and 2001. The first finding, a review of the movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, contained a lengthy passage nearly identical to one by Steve Murray of the Cox News Service [23]. The second, a review of a Wallflowers' album, borrowed passages from one published in Rolling Stone by Tom Moon earlier the same month[24].

Domenech's plagiarism appeared to have extended to the Post itself. DailyKos posters found passages in an article that mirrored ones in a 1999 story by Post staff writers Edward Walsh and Roberto Suro about the Waco Siege of David Koresh's Branch Davidian church[25] and a 1998 story by Post staff writers Michael Powell and Saundra Torry reporting on the Russell Eugene Weston Jr. shooting in the U.S. Capitol[26]. However, the editors of The Flat Hat later disputed the accusation regarding the Waco article, writing in an online editors note[27]:

We believe this was a simple typographical error which could have been introduced at any point in the production process. As such, we do not believe the fault is with Ben Domenech or Marianna Toma, the writers of this piece. In this instance, any confusion about the sources of these articles was almost certainly not due to any misconduct or negligence by the writers.

On March 24 2006, the editors of The National Review confirmed on its blog The Corner [28] that Domenech appeared to have plagiarized at least one article he'd written for that publication:

As the previous links on the matter mention, at least one of the pieces Ben Domenech is accused of having plagiarized was a movie review for National Review Online. A side-by-side comparison to another review of the same film speaks for itself. There is no excuse for plagiarism and we apologize to our readers and to Steve Murray of the Cox News Service from whose piece the language was lifted. With some evidence of possible problems with other pieces, we're also looking into other articles he wrote for NRO.

Still later, The National Review announced that they had confirmed three other instances of apparent plagiarism. Side-by-side comparisons published on the site indicated that Domenech had also lifted phrases from Rolling Stone, the Dallas Morning News, and other sources.[29]

Resignation

On March 24 2006, RedState contributor Erick (Erickson) called the plagiarism allegations "lies" and said that "permissions obtained" were not reflected in the online record.[30] That same day, Malkin called the evidence for plagiarism "damning" and urged him to resign.[31]. Other conservative bloggers followed suit.

At 1:17 p.m. ET on March 24 2006, Washington Post online editor Jim Brady announced Domenech's resignation[32], explaining:

When we hired Domenech, we were not aware of any allegations that he had plagiarized any of his past writings. In any cases where allegations such as these are made, we will continue to investigate those charges thoroughly in order to maintain our journalistic integrity.
Plagiarism is perhaps the most serious offense that a writer can commit or be accused of. Washingtonpost.com will do everything in its power to verify that its news and opinion content is sourced completely and accurately at all times.

Domenech initially denied the charges, blaming editors for similarities to other articles. On March 24 2006, after resigning but before admitting his guilt, he claimed that "Virtually every other alleged instance of plagiarism that I’ve seen comes from a single semester’s worth of pieces that were printed under my name at my college paper, The Flat Hat, when I was 17." [33] But in fact, the examples which had already surfaced spanned the years 1999-2001.

Domenech has taken a leave of absence from RedState. [34]

Regnery controversy

Domenech resigned from his editing duties at Regnery March 21, 2006 upon launching "Red America." [35] [36]

Though Domenech still appears to be employed by Regnery "while finishing a few short-term projects," a company spokesperson told the New York Times says they will look into the allegations as well.

Wonkette subsequently cited an unnamed source at Regnery who said that the Post affair gave Regnery convenient cover for getting rid of a poor performer who neglected his editorial responsibilities to make connections and advance his political career. The source alleged that he displeased Malkin by removing a 27-word passage from her book Unhinged [37], but Regnery production staff denied this, saying the omission was a "layout error" and not Domenech's fault.

Notes and references

  1. ^ Domenech's Bio. "I was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, before moving to Virginia."
  2. ^ Washington Post online Post.com Blogger Quits Amid Furor, Howard Kurtz. March 25, 2006. According to Kurz, Jim Brady "said he would have dismissed Domenech if the former Bush administration aide and Republican Senate staffer had not offered to quit first."
  3. ^ RedState story by "Erick" The fact that "Augustine" was a pseudonym used Domenech had not been well known. See this post at Daily Kos
  4. ^ Blog on Washington Post
  5. ^ Domenech self declares "Hispanic". Domenech writes 'But confronted by the thought that I only got the scholarship because I'm Puerto Rican—not because I got an article published in the Washington Post when I was 16, or won multiple awards for my writing, but simply because I could check that box in the ethnic category that said "Hispanic" (a silly word invented by the census office)—I could feel nothing but disgust.'
  6. ^ Domenech on his ethnic heritage. He writes on St. Patrick's Day, 'My father is Puerto Rican, my Mother Dutch-Irish, which means I only have a little green in me. But it's still there.'
  7. ^ "Domenech Named To White House Post"
  8. ^ The Flat Hat: Home sweet school A Domenech piece about his home schooling experience. Domenech's father was also active in the home schooling movement Interview with Doug Domenech: Proclaim Liberty
  9. ^ The Flat Hat Online, Former Flat Hat editor refutes Domenech's rebuttal, Joshua Pinkerton. Article cites Associate Vice President for Public Affairs Bill Walker as saying Domenech left the college without graduating
  10. ^ Red America blog bio on Domenech The bio states "After 9/11, he abandoned the journalism field for a taxpayer-funded life and was sworn in as the youngest political appointee of President George W. Bush."
  11. ^ online announcement According to Hewitt "Domenech is a superb writer/reporter and very well wired on all things conservative"
  12. ^ LA Times on Domenech affair "Ben is now a book editor for Regnery Publishing, where he has edited multiple bestsellers and books by Michelle Malkin, Ramesh Ponnuru, and Hugh Hewitt."
  13. ^ MediaMatters criticizes hiring
  14. ^ Post on RedState.org
  15. ^ Post on RedState.org
  16. ^ First Things article
  17. ^ Ponnuru defends Domenech
  18. ^ Original blog entry
  19. ^ New York Times online, Washington Post Blogger Quits After Plagiarism Accusations, Julie Bosman, March 25, 2006. The Times article quotes O'Rourke as saying, "I wouldn't want to swear in a court of law that I never met the guy," adding "but I didn't give him permission to use my words under his byline, no."
  20. ^ FlatHat investigates charges
  21. ^ Domenech appears to have copied three new pieces
  22. ^ Domenech's college paper reveals more plagiarism
  23. ^ DailyKos post identifying plagiarism published in the National Review Online
  24. ^ DailyKos post identifying further plagiarism published in the National Review Online
  25. ^ Another DailyKos post
  26. ^ More plagiarism discovered at DailyKos
  27. ^ Editors note clears Domenech for Waco article
  28. ^ National Review confirms plagiarism
  29. ^ NRO Corner link
  30. ^ RedState attempts to defend Domenech
  31. ^ Michelle Malkin gives up supporting Domenech
  32. ^ Washington Post announces Domenech's resignation
  33. ^ Domenech's statement on Redstate
  34. ^ Domenech's apology. See also [1].
  35. ^ : I Am Surprisingly Fair to My Old Bosses
  36. ^ Domenech's account to Wonkette echoed that of Regnery Publishing vice president and executive editor Harry Crocker, as quoted by Human Events Online
  37. ^ Fireproofing His Master's House
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