In long investigation published today on The New Republic’s website, left-wing journalist Christopher Ketcham formally accused another lefty writer, former Times editor and Nation Institute fellow Christopher Hedges, of lifting passages from other writers (including Ernest Hemingway) for columns at Truthdig.com, several of his own books, and an essay for Harper’s that was never published.

Ketcham prosecutes an exhaustive case against Hedges, though some of the charges seem to concern Hedges’ habit of lazy footnoting, rather than outright plagiarism.

As an aside, Ketcham notes that his article “first took shape as an investigation for The American Prospect and then for Salon, both of which eventually declined to publish it.” In a revealing footnote, Ketcham continues:

I should note that a possible result of this piece will be the burning of my bridges at the Nation, where I know the editors and have been published; the Nation Institute, from which I have received funding for investigative journalism published in Harper’s and elsewhere; Truthdig, where I have published half-a-dozen columns and have been proud of my work; and Nation Books, Hedges’s current publisher, a house I have always respected and admired.

Hedges did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment. Know anything more about why it took Ketcham so long to get this published? Enlighten us below.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]