News (Media Awareness Project) - US: Publication Halted On Bush Biography |
| Title: | US: Publication Halted On Bush Biography |
| Published On: | 1999-10-22 |
| Source: | Dallas Morning News (TX) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-05 17:27:27 |
PUBLICATION HALTED ON BUSH BIOGRAPHY
Publication was halted Thursday on a book about Gov. George W. Bush after a
report that its author is on parole for his conviction in a failed 1987 car
bombing in Dallas.
Officials of St. Martin's Press Inc. said they have stopped all sales,
promotion and order-filling on J.H. Hatfield's book, Fortunate Son: George
W. Bush and the Making of an American President. The move followed a report
in The Dallas Morning News on Thursday that outlined Mr. Hatfield's
conviction and the author's contention that he was a victim of mistaken
identity.
The Bush biography gained attention for its allegations that Mr. Bush has
concealed a 1972 cocaine arrest. Mr. Bush denied the charge, and
authorities in Houston, where the incident was said to have occurred, said
they had no recollection of it.
Mr. Hatfield could not be reached for comment Thursday.
On the campaign trail in South Carolina, Mr. Bush said, "Obviously, if he's
a convicted felon, his credibility is nothing. But, his credibility was
nothing to begin with, because his story was totally ridiculous."
Bush campaign spokeswoman Mindy Tucker applauded the publisher's action.
"We think it was a responsible decision and the right thing to do," she said.
St. Martin's Press said it would notify bookstores of the company's
"serious questions" about the information in the 70,000 copies already in
stores as part of a recall of the book.
"We can't trust this guy anymore," said David Kaye, general counsel for St.
Martin's, which had earlier been aggressively marketing the book.
Industry experts said they can't recall a similar action by a publisher.
The real effect of the stoppage may be difficult to gauge, since bookstores
are free to sell or return the copies they have.
"As far as we are concerned, it's available for sale and, unless there is a
legal reason, we're not going to return them," said Mary Ellen Keating,
spokesman for the Barnes and Noble chain.
"It'll probably sell well now."
Mr. Hatfield may not see any of the proceeds. Mr. Kaye said that if the
company concludes that Mr. Hatfield lied about his criminal record, the
publisher would be entitled to withhold royalties and could seek repayment
of money already paid.
In addition to the car bombing conviction, Mr. Hatfield was separately
convicted of embezzlement.
Federal court records reveal that Mr. Hatfield pleaded guilty in 1992 to
embezzling thousands of dollars in federal housing money - a case in which
his intended bombing victim was a witness.
Mr. Kaye, the publisher's lawyer, said the company had dispatched
investigators to Texas and Mr. Hatfield's home state of Arkansas.
Mr. Kaye said that the publishing company is in contact with the author's
lawyers and that Mr. Hatfield continues to insist that he is not the man
named as a felon in federal and state court records.
A parole officer in Arkansas confirmed this week that the author is the
same man convicted in the car bombing. Court records show that in 1988 Mr.
Hatfield was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he admitted he paid a
hit man $5,000 to blow up his former boss's car in February 1987.
The intended victim's lawyer said televised pictures of the bearded Mr.
Hatfield, the author, show the same man convicted of soliciting the capital
murder of his client.
"That's him. He used to wear a beard, so I recognized him," said Dallas
lawyer Norman L. "Happy" Nelson Jr.
Mr. Nelson said that when his client's car was blown up, she was a witness
in the federal investigation of Mr. Hatfield. In that matter, he was
charged in Dallas federal court with forging signatures to cash government
checks worth $34,887. While in prison, he pleaded guilty to one count of
making a false statement in federal paperwork and had five additional years
tacked on to his state sentence.
Authorities had investigated missing funds earmarked for a low-income
housing project managed by the company where Mr. Hatfield worked.
After release from Texas prison in April 1993, he served time in the
federal penitentiary in El Reno, Okla., although officials there were
unable to provide details of his incarceration.
With early-release provisions, by 1994 he was paroled to Arkansas, where he
has written at least five other books, including several science-fiction
television trivia books and a biography of Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart.
Mr. Nelson said that Mr. Hatfield's ambitions as an author were evident
even when he was working at the property management firm before his arrest.
Mr. Hatfield told fellow employees that he had won a contest to write the
next James Bond book, to continue the series started by deceased author Ian
Fleming.
After Mr. Hatfield showed up with his book, printed and bound, co-workers
called the publisher. They learned Mr. Hatfield had paid to have the work
published himself, Mr. Nelson said.
The promotional material for Mr. Hatfield's Bush biography include a
statement that he won the Isaac Asimov Foundation Literary Award for his
biography of Mr. Stewart, the Star Trek star.
St. Martin's publicists could not say who presents the award. The Asimov
award is not among the hundreds of contests in the 49-page contest
reference guide contained in Literary Marketplace, an authoritative
publishing reference book.
Four other books about Mr. Bush either have already appeared or will be
published soon.
The first Bush biography, First Son, written by Dallas Morning News
reporter Bill Minutaglio, appeared in bookstores earlier this month. A
Charge to Keep, an autobiography ghostwritten by Bush press secretary Karen
Hughes, is scheduled for mid-November.
Two books are slated for publication early next year: W: The Rise, Fall and
Rise of the Bush Dynasty by Elizabeth Mitchell, a former contributor to
George magazine, and Shrub by columnist Molly Ivins and Austin political
journalist Lou Dubose.
St. Martin's Press, with main offices in New York City, is a midsize U.S.
publisher. Recent figures show the press is responsible for more than 1,800
books annually through its various imprints and subsidiaries.
John F. Baker, editorial director of the industry magazine Publishers
Weekly, estimated Thursday that St. Martin's annual revenues range between
$100 million and $150 million.
Publication was halted Thursday on a book about Gov. George W. Bush after a
report that its author is on parole for his conviction in a failed 1987 car
bombing in Dallas.
Officials of St. Martin's Press Inc. said they have stopped all sales,
promotion and order-filling on J.H. Hatfield's book, Fortunate Son: George
W. Bush and the Making of an American President. The move followed a report
in The Dallas Morning News on Thursday that outlined Mr. Hatfield's
conviction and the author's contention that he was a victim of mistaken
identity.
The Bush biography gained attention for its allegations that Mr. Bush has
concealed a 1972 cocaine arrest. Mr. Bush denied the charge, and
authorities in Houston, where the incident was said to have occurred, said
they had no recollection of it.
Mr. Hatfield could not be reached for comment Thursday.
On the campaign trail in South Carolina, Mr. Bush said, "Obviously, if he's
a convicted felon, his credibility is nothing. But, his credibility was
nothing to begin with, because his story was totally ridiculous."
Bush campaign spokeswoman Mindy Tucker applauded the publisher's action.
"We think it was a responsible decision and the right thing to do," she said.
St. Martin's Press said it would notify bookstores of the company's
"serious questions" about the information in the 70,000 copies already in
stores as part of a recall of the book.
"We can't trust this guy anymore," said David Kaye, general counsel for St.
Martin's, which had earlier been aggressively marketing the book.
Industry experts said they can't recall a similar action by a publisher.
The real effect of the stoppage may be difficult to gauge, since bookstores
are free to sell or return the copies they have.
"As far as we are concerned, it's available for sale and, unless there is a
legal reason, we're not going to return them," said Mary Ellen Keating,
spokesman for the Barnes and Noble chain.
"It'll probably sell well now."
Mr. Hatfield may not see any of the proceeds. Mr. Kaye said that if the
company concludes that Mr. Hatfield lied about his criminal record, the
publisher would be entitled to withhold royalties and could seek repayment
of money already paid.
In addition to the car bombing conviction, Mr. Hatfield was separately
convicted of embezzlement.
Federal court records reveal that Mr. Hatfield pleaded guilty in 1992 to
embezzling thousands of dollars in federal housing money - a case in which
his intended bombing victim was a witness.
Mr. Kaye, the publisher's lawyer, said the company had dispatched
investigators to Texas and Mr. Hatfield's home state of Arkansas.
Mr. Kaye said that the publishing company is in contact with the author's
lawyers and that Mr. Hatfield continues to insist that he is not the man
named as a felon in federal and state court records.
A parole officer in Arkansas confirmed this week that the author is the
same man convicted in the car bombing. Court records show that in 1988 Mr.
Hatfield was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he admitted he paid a
hit man $5,000 to blow up his former boss's car in February 1987.
The intended victim's lawyer said televised pictures of the bearded Mr.
Hatfield, the author, show the same man convicted of soliciting the capital
murder of his client.
"That's him. He used to wear a beard, so I recognized him," said Dallas
lawyer Norman L. "Happy" Nelson Jr.
Mr. Nelson said that when his client's car was blown up, she was a witness
in the federal investigation of Mr. Hatfield. In that matter, he was
charged in Dallas federal court with forging signatures to cash government
checks worth $34,887. While in prison, he pleaded guilty to one count of
making a false statement in federal paperwork and had five additional years
tacked on to his state sentence.
Authorities had investigated missing funds earmarked for a low-income
housing project managed by the company where Mr. Hatfield worked.
After release from Texas prison in April 1993, he served time in the
federal penitentiary in El Reno, Okla., although officials there were
unable to provide details of his incarceration.
With early-release provisions, by 1994 he was paroled to Arkansas, where he
has written at least five other books, including several science-fiction
television trivia books and a biography of Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart.
Mr. Nelson said that Mr. Hatfield's ambitions as an author were evident
even when he was working at the property management firm before his arrest.
Mr. Hatfield told fellow employees that he had won a contest to write the
next James Bond book, to continue the series started by deceased author Ian
Fleming.
After Mr. Hatfield showed up with his book, printed and bound, co-workers
called the publisher. They learned Mr. Hatfield had paid to have the work
published himself, Mr. Nelson said.
The promotional material for Mr. Hatfield's Bush biography include a
statement that he won the Isaac Asimov Foundation Literary Award for his
biography of Mr. Stewart, the Star Trek star.
St. Martin's publicists could not say who presents the award. The Asimov
award is not among the hundreds of contests in the 49-page contest
reference guide contained in Literary Marketplace, an authoritative
publishing reference book.
Four other books about Mr. Bush either have already appeared or will be
published soon.
The first Bush biography, First Son, written by Dallas Morning News
reporter Bill Minutaglio, appeared in bookstores earlier this month. A
Charge to Keep, an autobiography ghostwritten by Bush press secretary Karen
Hughes, is scheduled for mid-November.
Two books are slated for publication early next year: W: The Rise, Fall and
Rise of the Bush Dynasty by Elizabeth Mitchell, a former contributor to
George magazine, and Shrub by columnist Molly Ivins and Austin political
journalist Lou Dubose.
St. Martin's Press, with main offices in New York City, is a midsize U.S.
publisher. Recent figures show the press is responsible for more than 1,800
books annually through its various imprints and subsidiaries.
John F. Baker, editorial director of the industry magazine Publishers
Weekly, estimated Thursday that St. Martin's annual revenues range between
$100 million and $150 million.
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