10.27.99 Top NY publisher resigns over Bush book "Dubya" bio detailing info on cocaine connections "recalled" days after publication-- Now editor-in-chief resigns-- Heavy pressure being applied, perhaps? NewsHawk® Inc. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- WIRE:10/27/1999 12:58:00 ET Top editor at NY publisher resigns over Bush book NEW YORK (Reuters) - The editor-in-chief at a New York publisher that last week recalled a controversial biography of Republican presidential front-runner George W. Bush has resigned, the publisher said Wednesday. Robert Wallace resigned as editor-in-chief of the Trade Division at St Martin's Press, which Oct. 22 recalled "Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the Making of an American President" after concluding that author J.H. Hatfield had serious credibility problems. "St Martin's Press announces the resignation of Bob Wallace as Editor-in-Chief of the St. Martin's Press Trade Division," President and Publisher Sally Richardson said in a statement, giving no reason for Wallace's action. The New York Times quoted Wallace as saying in a statement announcing his resignation that he and his staff of 20 editors at St. Martin's Press had no control over the book's publication. "Fortunate Son" hit bookstore shelves early last week, only to be recalled Friday after St Martin's conducted an internal investigation into reports that its author had been convicted in 1988 for attempted murder and lied about his involvement. The book, published by St Martins' imprint Thomas Dunne Books, in an afterword quoted unnamed sources as saying that Bush was arrested for cocaine possession in 1972. The book said a Republican state judge had the record expunged in exchange for community service as a favor to Bush's father, former President George Bush, who had helped him get elected. Both Bushes have strongly denied the claim. The New York Times quoted Wallace as saying he quit because "I do not want in any way to have my name associated with 'Fortunate Son' or future books published by Thomas Dunne Books over which I have no control." Richardson said Wallace had read the afterword and advised on various aspects of the book's launch. "Therefore, we are surprised by his public statements and resignation at this time," her statement said. Hatfield said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters that his book was extensively fact-checked by the publisher and its lawyers. "Although my character has certainly been called into question, my credibility as a biographer cannot be debated because...this biography was exhaustively researched by the author and fact-checked numerous times by several lawyers representing my publisher," he said. St Martin's was not available for comment. The Dallas Morning News reported last week that James Hatfield pleaded guilty in 1988, served time and was paroled in 1993 in Arkansas for trying to have his ex-boss at a financial firm killed in a car-bombing attempt which failed. The author, J.H. Hatfield, denied he was the same person as an ex-convict with a similar name, James Howard Hatfield. Arkansas state parole officer Eddie Cobb, however, told Reuters James Howard Hatfield and the author were the same man. In his e-mail, Hatfield did not address the issue of the conviction, stating that he would "have nothing further to say about this book or the allegations regarding my own past."
