How many books did Kaavya Viswanathan and/or her ghostwriters plagiarize from?

The Crimson reports that she/they may have ripped off Salman Rushdie and Meg Cabot, author of “The Princess Diaries.”

And the Times reports that passages in How Opal Mehta “bear striking similarities to writing in “Can You Keep a Secret?,” a chick-lit novel by Sophie Kinsella.”

“The plots of the two books are different…but the phrasing and structure of some passages is nearly identical.”

It’s time to ‘fess up, people. What the hell happened here? Remember that old Washington law of scandal: It’s not the crime that gets you, it’s the cover-up.

Instead, Viswanathan declined to comment, and a spokeswoman for Alloy Entertainment offers this piece of blather: “We are continuing to refrain from offering comment on any matter relating to Kaavya at this time.”

In my opinion, the phrase “at this time” should be banished from the English language—from all language—except in those cases where it is being used to make fun of people who say “at this time.”

Somehow, you knew that this story wasn’t over….