Justice Department Lashes Out at CNN on Twitter Over Melania Trump

Those closely observing the Republican National Convention this week were quick to pounce on the fact that Melania Trump appears to have appropriated part of a speech by Michelle Obama, and the US Justice Department became an inadvertent mouthpiece for indignation.

#MelaniaTrump knows strife, struggle and discomfort--after all she's married to a Lego pic.twitter.com/QMjf5R8jet

— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) July 19, 2016

"When The News broke and people started to accuse me of Plagiarism, At first I was afraid; I was Petrified..."- #MelaniaTrumpQuotes

— Aaron Holland (@AaronHolland1) July 19, 2016

On Monday, the first night of the week-long Republican National Convention, the most anticipated speaker was Melania Trump, wife of the presumptive presidential nominee. While her speech initially received praise, a closer look revealed that a large section sounded familiar.

It was quickly discovered that more than an entire paragraph was taken, nearly word-for-word, from a speech given by First Lady Michelle Obama during the 2008 Democratic convention.

#melaniatrump right now. pic.twitter.com/5Xig9iEX24

— Jamie Lono (@JamieLono) July 19, 2016

When you cheat but forget to make the answers your own @realDonaldTrump #MelaniaTrumpQuotes #MichelleObama pic.twitter.com/LPXmeVcuAV

— EldestSalvatore (@EldestDamon) July 19, 2016

Social and traditional media seized on the revelation as the latest symptom of a campaign by Trump built on dishonesty and half-truth.

But a staffer with the US Department of Justice, who used their work account to post personal comments, may regret not taking a moment or two to assess before tweeting about the scandal.

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"CNN is the biggest troll of them all lmao #Petty" the tweet read, with a link to a CNN article titled "Campaign denies Melania Trump's speech plagiarizes parts of Michelle Obama's."



The Justice Department issued a statement explaining the tweet.

"A staffer in the public affairs office erroneously used the official Department of Justice Twitter handle to post a tweet that was intended for a personal account," the DOJ said in a statement. "The tweet does not represent the Department’s views and was inappropriate for the Department of Justice’s official account, so it was immediately deleted."

The official statement wasn’t released until three hours after the tweet was posted.

Melania apology. "Indeed, I did have a relationship with Ms. Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong." #MelaniaTrumpQuotes

— Mark Critch (@markcritch) July 19, 2016

"Better ingredients. Better pizza. Papa Johns" #MelaniaTrumpQuotes pic.twitter.com/NucJiZ3l9g

— Marc Metry (@MarcMetry) July 19, 2016

"As a result of the incident, the Office of Public Affairs has implemented procedural changes to the way we use our social media accounts and will provide additional social media training for employees," the statement reads.

"The Justice Department takes this matter very seriously and will continue to take the appropriate steps to prevent it from happening in the future."

#MelaniaTrump Just Posted Her Princeton Graduation Pic! 😂 pic.twitter.com/bUqsBPWvEh

— Randy Haas (@Randy_Haas) July 19, 2016

In light of Melania’s plagiarism, many have begun to wonder what other famous quotes the potential first lady might crib.

Tuesday night’s speakers will include House speaker Paul Ryan, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and former presidential hopeful Ben Carson, who, unlike Melania, has built a reputation for making comments that are wholly and inarguably unique.