Text 1921, 97 rader
Skriven 2004-09-09 05:31:00 av Jeff Binkley (1:226/600)
     Kommentar till en text av Stan Hardegree
Ärende: LURCH
=============
SH> BS> request regarding his TANG "service", the upcoming 60 Minutes
SH> BS> piece about how he got into the TANG and last but not least,
SH> BS> the upcoming Kitty Kelly book, "Family."

SH>Hahahaha"h"ahahaha!!

SH>You "cast" your lot "with" some real scumbags, "Ski."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6706-
2004Sep8.html?nav=rss_politics

Sharon Bush Denies Kitty Kelley Account

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 9, 2004; Page C01 

President Bush's former sister-in-law denied yesterday that she had 
given author Kitty Kelley any information about allegations of past drug 
use by Bush. 

Sharon Bush is quoted in Kelley's forthcoming book about the Bush family 
as making one of the allegations, and Kelley's editor said in an 
interview Tuesday that she had provided "confirmation" for the 
information. 

But Sharon Bush, who is divorced from the president's brother Neil, said 
in a statement: "I categorically deny that I ever told Kitty Kelley that 
George W. Bush used cocaine at Camp David or that I ever saw him use 
cocaine at Camp David. When Kitty Kelley raised drug use at Camp David, 
I responded by saying something along the lines of, 'Who would say such 
a thing?' 

"Although there have been tensions between me and various members of the 
Bush family, I cannot allow this falsehood to go unchallenged." 

Doubleday, Kelley's publisher, was quick to dispute her account. 

"Doubleday stands fully behind the accuracy of Ms. Kelley's reporting 
and believes that everything she attributes to Sharon Bush in her book 
is an accurate account of their discussions," said Associate Publisher 
Suzanne Herz. "Ms. Kelley met with Sharon Bush over the course of a four-
hour lunch on April 1, 2003, at the Chelsea Bistro in Manhattan." 

The next day, Herz said, Kelley had a 90-minute phone conversation with 
Bush in the presence of Peter Gethers, her Doubleday editor. Gethers 
confirmed the accuracy of the statement yesterday. 

Kelley "has notes to corroborate both these conversations," Herz said, 
and Bush "understood that anything she said could be used for 
publication." 

The conflicting accounts will undoubtedly become fodder in the emerging 
debate over "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty." White 
House and Republican Party spokesmen have denounced the book as 
"garbage" and "fiction." Publication day is set for Monday, when Kelley 
will begin three days of "Today" show interviews, but some of the 
allegations have already leaked to a British newspaper. 

Sharon Bush's attorney, David Berg, said from Texas yesterday that his 
client had never given Kelley a formal interview. He said the two women 
spoke when Bush, who was in financial difficulty during the divorce, 
asked Kelley to put her in touch with a speakers' bureau, though in the 
end Bush never made any speeches. 

"She talked to Kitty Kelley and there was an agreement that she would 
not be quoted or used as a source," Berg said. "This was totally off the 
record." Bush was "surprised and shocked" when Kelley raised the drug 
question, he said. 

"She did tell Kitty Kelley that she felt the Bush family was being 
hypocritical about the so-called family values issue" in light of the 
way she was treated in the divorce, Berg said. "She regrets ever having 
spoken to her. This is really below the belt." Berg said yesterday 
Sharon Bush would not agree to be interviewed about the dispute. 

Doubleday referred a reporter to Lou Colasuonno, a former tabloid editor 
who was then providing public relations advice to Sharon Bush and 
arranged last year's lunch with Kelley. Asked about the disputed quote 
on drug use, he said: "From what I've seen reported in the media, and 
having not seen the book, I would not describe it as inaccurate." 

Colasuonno said he did not recall Bush saying anything about the meeting 
being off the record. He also did not recall Kelley taking extensive 
notes, but said she had her pen and pad out at some point, perhaps when 
the women exchanged phone numbers. 

Berg said that no one had asked his client to issue her denial. "Sharon 
is estranged from the Bush family," he said. 

The controversy doesn't appear to have hurt Doubleday: Advance sales of 
"The Family" made the book No. 6 yesterday on Amazon.com.


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