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Saturday, Nov 7, 2009
As J.H. Hatfield's credibility crumbles, St. Martin's Press stops distribution of his new book, which says the GOP front-runner was arrested on drug charges in 1972.
Oct 21, 1999 | The publisher of a controversial new biography about George W. Bush has halted publication of the book after published reports opened up serious questions about the veracity of the book's claims, the publisher's fact-checking process and the credibility of the author, J.H. Hatfield.
In a statement Thursday, St. Martin's Press said, "Last night, St. Martin's Press received information from a reporter at the Dallas Morning News about James Hatfield, the author of 'Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the Making of an American President,' which, if true, calls into serious question our continued ability to trust the information provided to us by Mr. Hatfield. As a result, at 9 a.m. this morning, we suspended publication of Mr. Hatfield's book."
In the book, Hatfield alleges that Bush was arrested for cocaine possession in 1972, but had his record expunged by a Republican judge in exchange for Bush's participation in a community service program at Project P.U.L.L. in Houston's inner city. The author cites three anonymous sources to support his claim.
The Bush campaign called the book "science fiction," and a report in the Dallas Morning News said that Hatfield is a convicted felon. According to the Dallas newspaper, Hatfield, 41, was convicted in Dallas of hiring a hit man to murder his employer with a car bomb in 1987, and served five years of a 15-year sentence in a Texas prison.
Hatfield, who previously penned books about "The X-Files," "Star Wars" and "Star Trek," told the Dallas Morning News that he was not the convicted felon, James Howard Hatfield. By way of explanation, he offered the following Mulder and Scully-ism: "Doesn't it sound a little bit weird to you that all of a sudden, the guy that's accusing potentially the next president of the United States of having his record expunged, all of a sudden miraculously has a record himself in the state of Texas? This is all just a little bit too bizarre."
In addition, Salon News has learned that Hatfield has checked out of his New York hotel, where he was staying during a book tour, and disappeared. St. Martin's Press officials have not been able to locate him.
Thomas Dunne, publisher of the St. Martin's Press imprint that released "Fortunate Son," said in a statement: "We were totally surprised and distressed by this development. Mr. Hatfield was the author of several successful prior books. We acquired this book through a highly reputable literary agency."
A Salon News investigation of Hatfield's background also raised questions about the author's risumi. In the publicity materials released by St. Martin's, Hatfield is described as a Texas "syndicated columnist, freelance journalist, a frequent contributor to several Lone Star State newspapers and magazines, including the Dallas Times-Herald, Houston Post, Dallas Observer, and The Texas Women's News." Three of those papers are now defunct. Thomas Dunne publicist Jamie Brickhouse said Hatfield had done most of his freelance writing in the late 1980s and early '90s, but could not specify exact dates.
