White House aide admits to plagiarism, resigns

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A White House aide resigned on Friday after an Indiana newspaper reported that he plagiarized in more than half of the columns he had published since 2000.

An investigation so far by the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel found 20 of 38 unsolicited guest columns from Tim Goeglein published between 2000 and 2008 had parts that were copied, without attribution, according to the paper.

"Tim accepted responsibility for the columns published under his name in his local newspaper, and has apologized for not upholding the standards expected by the president," White House press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement.

A White House spokeswoman said the Bush administration found out about the plagiarism on Friday, and it had not known Goeglein was writing columns for the News-Sentinel.

The newspaper said he was never paid for his writings.

Goeglein worked for the administration for more than seven years on several issues including AIDS relief and helping in the confirmation of Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito, said Perino.

(Reporting by Christopher Doering and David Alexander)