title:  Ben Carson’s Prepared HUD Testimony Contained Word-For-Word Plagiarism
text: It looks like National Security Pick Monica Crowley isn t the only plagiarist on Team Trump, aside from Melania, that is. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson Trump s pick for HUD Secretary started off the confirmation hearing today with a bang, refusing to say that the president-elect and his family wouldn t profit from the agency he hopes to head. To top that off, part of Carson s prepared opening statement appears to contain word-for-word plagiarism, according to The Washington Post.However, the Senate Banking Committee did not hear the plagiarized sections because Carson used his typical off-the-cuff style during his testimony   leaving behind his prepared remarks.Carson s prepared remarks were taken verbatim:The two paragraphs in question focused on the health problems caused by lead exposure in young children. According to the Post, they were taken verbatim from  Where We Live Matters For Our Health,  a 2008 report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.A Trump transition spokeswoman told The Washington Post that the plagiarized text was included accidentally, and that Carson never intended to read it at his hearing. We re not sure exactly what accidental plagiarism is.Prepared statements from nomination hearings are typically entered into the congressional record. It was a written statement for the record   his oral testimony, as I am sure you ve heard, is extemporaneous and planned that way,  the spokeswoman told the Post.  The original written statement was sourced with hyperlinks and footnotes, but unfortunately that seems to have fallen off.According to the Post, however, there was no sourcing included in the copies of prepared text which was passed out to reporters at the hearing.In mid-November, Carson declined a Trump cabinet position, citing his lack of experience. Even though he lacks political experience, the sleepy-eyed doctor ran for the GOP nomination for the presidency. Carson now wants to lead a massive agency with 8,300 employees and a budget of about $48 billion. Carson said he s a good pick for the position because he grew up in inner-city Detroit with a single mother who had a third-grade education and worked several jobs to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table.At the hearing, Sen. Elizabeth Warren asked Carson,  Can you assure me that not a single taxpayer dollar you give out will financial benefit the president-elect or his family? Carson failed to assure Warren that the president-elect would not financially benefit from HUD and that s because Donald J. Trump is the swamp.Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images