Publication
Suspended
of
New
Book
Claiming
George
W.
Bush
Arrested
for
Cocaine
in
'72
10/22/99
NOTE After this story went to print, under the title "New Books Claims
George W. Bush Arrested for Cocaine in '72," St. Martin's Press suspended
publication of "Favorite Son" after the Dallas Morning News reported that
author J.H. Hatfield is an ex-con who served time for the
attempted murder of a former co-worker. Hatfield denied that he was the
same man, but it is now being reported that in fact, he is. DRCNet's
original story (below) reports on the Salon.com story regarding the
existence of the book, and notes twice that the Bush campaign has strongly
denied the allegations contained in the manuscript. DRCNet has been unable
to reach any of the principals involved (other than a Bush campaign
spokesperson) for further comment or clarification. -- Ed.
In an exclusive report, salon.com
reported this week that a new book by Texas author J.H. Hatfield claims
that George Bush, Jr. was arrested for cocaine possession in Houston in
1972. The book claims that Bush's father, former President George
Herbert Walker Bush, pulled strings with the judge to have the arrest expunged
from his son's record, and that George W., sentenced in chambers, served
one year of community service. When asked about the charge at an appearance this week, Bush the candidate called the report "ridiculous." The allegation appears in the afterward of the book "Favorite Son: The Making of an American President" (St. Martin's). Hatfield claims that the story has been confirmed by three sources: "a high ranking advisor to Bush [Sr.]," "a long-time Bush family friend" and a "classmate [of Bush's] at Yale." Bush Jr. did, in fact, spend a year doing volunteer work at Project P.U.L.L., a non-profit organization working with minority youth at around that time. But the book "First Son: George W. Bush and the Family Dynasty," by Dallas Morning News reporter Bill Minutaglio, says George Bush Sr. referred his son to Project P.U.L.L. after an incident in which George W. drove drunk with his younger brother Marvin in the car. A spokesperson for the Bush campaign told The Week Online that Bush unequivocally denies the allegation. Hatfield, however, claims that when he spoke with Scott McClellan of the Bush Campaign to ask about the story, McClellan replied "oh, shit" and then "no comment." McClellan has since denied ever speaking with Hatfield. Salon reports that Thomas Dunne, Hatfield's publisher at St. Martin's, told them that Hatfield has shown himself to be a meticulous researcher. "Our lawyers looked at the manuscript with great care, it was thoroughly fact-checked," Dunne told Salon. "This author is a pretty good digger. He used a lot more sources than Bob Woodward has in a while." "Do I know for a fact these allegations are true? No, of course not. But I know that the author believes them to be true. He researched the book exhaustively and put it together with a variety of independent sources, including many who have never met each other." The original salon.com story can be found online at http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/18/cocaine/index.html.
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