The publisher of a book about former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s faith — written by her pastor — has pulled the book after discovering portions of it were plagiarized, CNN reported.
The Rev. Bill Shillady, a United Methodist minister, said the book, "Strong for a Moment Like This: The Daily Devotions of Hillary Rodham Clinton," was based on emails he wrote to Clinton during her presidential campaign and in the aftermath of her loss. The former secretary of state appears on the cover of the book and wrote its foreword. Clinton is a lifelong Methodist and, according to CNN, Shillady has been her pastor since 2002.
Shortly before the book’s publication in August, CNN reported that Shillady copied a portion of a devotional from another pastor without attribution. The Rev. Brian Milford, president of The United Methodist Publishing House, which owns Abingdon Press, the book's publisher, told CNN that their report prompted the publisher to conduct an "extensive review" of the book.
Milford told CNN in a statement that upon review, Abingdon Press was "alarmed to discover other content unattributed by the author."
"Abingdon Press has zero tolerance for plagiarism. Consequently, we have discontinued sales, will remove existing copies from all sales outlets, and will have them destroyed along with our existing inventory," Milford said.
Shillady told CNN, "I deeply regret my actions."
"I was wrong and there is no excuse for it,” Shillady said. “I apologize to those whose work I mistakenly did not attribute. I apologize to those I have disappointed, including Secretary Hillary Clinton, Abingdon Press, and all the writers and others who have helped me publish and promote this book. I ask for everyone's forgiveness."
Milford added that Abingdon Press will contact all of the writers impacted by the plagiarism.
