Washington ( CNN ) Potential Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson is apologizing after being accused of plagiarism -- even as the author of one of the books Carson is accused of lifting material from is rushing to his defense . `` I attempted to appropriately cite and acknowledge all sources in America the Beautiful , but inadvertently missed some . I apologize , and I am working with my editors to rectify the situation , '' Carson said in a statement his representative , Armstrong Williams , provided to CNN . BuzzFeed News broke the story earlier this week that Carson had lifted material from a number of books and online sources for his 2012 book `` America the Beautiful . '' Among those sources is SocialismSucks.net , a site whose founder acknowledged to BuzzFeed that Carson had taken some of his comments . Other sources included `` The Five Thousand Year Leap '' by W. Cleon Skousen , a Liberty Institute press release , CBS News and author William Federer 's book `` America 's God and Country . '' Carson , a neurosurgeon who 's said he 'll make a decision on a 2016 bid by this spring , is the latest GOP presidential contender to be hit with plagiarism charges . Sen. Rand Paul ( R-Ky. ) faced similar accusations about his own book in 2013 . The plagiarism charges have `` blindsided '' Carson , a source close to the neurosurgeon reportedly told the National Review Online . `` Alongside the author , we too take these matters very seriously . We have been in contact with the author and agent and will work with them to review the given information . We will respond as appropriate , '' a spokesperson for HarperCollins Christian publishing , which published Carson 's book , told BuzzFeed . Federer , though , told CNN in an email that he 'd given Carson permission to use his material -- and he even read and signed off on the final product . He said he met Carson while the two served on a university board , and handed him copies of his books during a shuttle ride on campus . `` I told him that I hoped he would find them interesting and that he had full permission to use any of the material in the books as he liked , '' Federer said . `` One of the books I gave him was specifically designed to be quoted , '' he said , noting that its subtitle specifically says that the material is for use in speeches , papers , debates , essays and articles , including those by elected officials . He then listed 16 acknowledgments and citations of his work in Carson 's book , saying that `` it is obvious that Dr. Ben Carson has made demonstrable effort to make proper attribution . Indeed , his overt acknowledgments have resulted in numerous individuals contacting me to purchase the book . '' Carson did not immediately respond to request for comment . CNN 's Alexandra Jaffe and Christie Bear contributed to this report .
Potential GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson was accused by BuzzFeed of plagiarizing passages of his 2012 book . One author Carson is accused of plagiarizing says the charges are inaccurate , and that Carson had permission .