by Craig Offman

AS RED-FACED ST. MARTIN'S Press recalled copies of J.H. Hatfield's controversial George W. Bush biography, "Fortunate Son," it may be experiencing a sensation of déjà vu. Only three years earlier the same St. Martin's imprint, Thomas Dunne Books, was forced to withdraw a Joseph Goebbels biography after the publisher belatedly realized that the author, David Irving, had links to Holocaust revisionist groups. With the Hatfield affair, it appears that Dunne Books could be accused of a similar lapse in judgment: If a report in the Dallas Morning News is true, Hatfield, whose book alleges that Bush was once busted for possession of cocaine and used his family influence to expunge his record, is himself a felon.

But even if Hatfield is a felon, does that also make him a liar? St. Martin's seemed to think so. Initially, the publisher rallyed behind the book's claim, substantiated by three unnamed sources. "I believe Jim, and we stand behind him," editor Barry Neville said in an interview. Later, however, the publisher began backpedaling. "Since Mr. Hatfield's credibility has been called into question, we feel compelled to suspend publication," Sally Richardson, St. Martin's trade division publisher, announced.

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