ormer President Bill Clinton does not like Kenneth W. Starr, the former independent counsel whose investigation of Mr. Clinton's sexual liaisons led to his impeachment. But he might still fear him, at least in Britain. Posted on 07/24/2004 7:01:59 AM PDT by BigKPM
Edited on 07/24/2004 7:30:10 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
ormer President Bill Clinton does not like Kenneth W. Starr, the former independent counsel whose investigation of Mr. Clinton's sexual liaisons led to his impeachment. But he might still fear him, at least in Britain.
Before publication in June of the British edition of his memoir, "My Life," Mr. Clinton authorized changes to a dozen or more passages, most of them related to Mr. Starr, apparently in an attempt to make the book and Mr. Clinton less vulnerable under Britain's tough libel laws.
Most of the changes center on what Mr. Clinton portrays as Mr. Starr's attempts to persuade potential witnesses to lie about the activities of the former president and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, now the junior senator from New York.
For example, in the United States edition, published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House Inc., Mr. Clinton speaks of Mr. Starr's "continuing efforts to coerce people into making false charges against Hillary and me, and to prosecute those who refused to lie for him."
In the British edition, published by Hutchinson, also part of Random House Inc. and its German parent, Bertelsmann, the word false was deleted and the final clause was changed to "and to prosecute those who refused to tell him what he wanted to hear."
Officials at the publishing house acknowledged the changes but declined to comment further. "I think we'll let the work speak for itself," said Jon Fine, a vice president and associate general counsel at Random House Inc.
Robert B. Barnett, a Washington lawyer who negotiated Mr. Clinton's book deal, also declined to comment on the changes. "The edition of the president's book that is published in the United Kingdom is an authorized version which was reviewed by British counsel," he said.
Britain's libel laws are almost the opposite of those in the United States. In Britain the burden of proof is on the defendant, with the law essentially assuming that a published statement is false and requiring proof that it is true. In the United States, however, if the plaintiff is a public figure, like Mr. Starr, he or she must prove both that what was reported was false and that the publisher either knew that or printed the statements with reckless disregard for their possible falsehood.
By saying that Mr. Starr tried to persuade witnesses against Mr. Clinton to lie, in some cases to a grand jury, Mr. Clinton is making the same accusation that was at the center of Mr. Starr's investigation of him: suborning perjury. During the investigation and impeachment trial, Mr. Clinton consistently denied that he asked or pressured anyone to lie.
Proving the charge is difficult, as Mr. Starr and the prosecutors from the House of Representatives found during the impeachment trial in the Senate, where Mr. Clinton was acquitted.
"My Life" has been a big seller in Britain, as in the United States, where it has held the No. 1 spot in nonfiction on the New York Times best-seller list since July 11, the date the list reflected the book's first week of sales. ("My Life" was published June 22.)
Yesterday Knopf said the book had sold 1.5 million copies in the United States and was in its fourth printing. But the book's momentum has slowed, perhaps inevitably, since it sold 400,000 copies on its first day.
In addition to Britain, the United States and Canada, "My Life" has been published in 31 countries or territories and is selling well around the world. But it has also been subject to piracy, most notably in China, where, much to the dismay of its publisher, an unauthorized version has gone on sale.
The Times of London reported this week that a Mandarin translation of "My Life" on sale in China included several passages that were not in English-language editions, including statements in which Mr. Clinton tells of his appreciation of Mao Zedong.
The changes start in the first sentence of the book, which in the Chinese version says that the town of Hope, Ark., where Mr. Clinton was born, has "good feng shui."
Mr. Fine, the Random House lawyer, said the company intended "to take all necessary steps to combat this sort of piracy."
Mr. Barnett said Mr. Clinton was eager to publish an authorized version of his book in China. "We want to be sure, however, that any edition published in Chinese is complete, accurate and unchanged," he added.
Last year Simon & Schuster withdrew publication rights for Mrs. Clinton's autobiography, "Living History," from its Chinese partner, Yilin Press, a state-owned publisher. The withdrawal came after Simon & Schuster discovered numerous unauthorized changes, including the deletion of material critical of the Chinese government.
British libel laws have long frustrated publishers. In March Scribner published "House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties," by Craig Unger. The book spent several weeks on best-seller lists in the United States. But its British publisher, Secker & Warburg, canceled publication, saying it was afraid of being sued. Last month Gibson Square Books, a small, three-year-old British publishing house, agreed to release the book after Mr. Unger made changes.
Bttt!
I'd sure like to compare the sales of this book with the accounting sheets from the DNC...
What's funny is reading Stephanopolous' book and Clinton's at the same time, and trying to discern which version is closer to the truth...
Other versions of the text can probably be found in Sandy Berger's socks.........
I didn't realise that there was a difference between the US and UK libel laws. That's very interesting.
But, if I'm buying this book I want the knocked-off Chinese version! That's hysterical ! :-)
Libel laws over here (I'm in Ireland, but the proofs are the same as the UK) are very strict - but perhaps lead to a greater accountability, and more accurate journalism. Having that said the laws are prohibitive in that the old 'publish and be damned' phrase only applies to editors unafraid of million euro lawsuits.
ping.
BTTT
That depends on what the meaning of the word "truth" is.
In the British edition, published by Hutchinson, also part of Random House Inc. and its German parent, Bertelsmann, the word false was deleted and the final clause was changed to "and to prosecute those who refused to tell him what he wanted to hear."
WOW !
I still don't understand Clinton's hate for Starr. The man saved Clinton's stupid butt.
...What's funny, is that you can read two books at the same time. I have lots of reading material in front of me, but, I need both of my eyes and both halves of my brain to make it fair that I will comprehend what I'm reading, for future recall. (Just a joke.)...
Heh, yeah, but it's Clinton and Stephanopoulos, what's there to comprehend?
I wish we had the same libel law, the same "loser" of a lawsuit pays the costs of the trial, and the same gag orders on the press during a trial as the British law. It would get rid of so much that is just 'over the top' disgusting in the media here.
"and to prosecute those who refused to tell him what he wanted to hear."
That is Susan McDougall's story, and she is sticking to it! She is now touring with Thomasson promoting the new movie "The Hunting of the President" from the 'fair and balanced' book of the same name by Joe Conason, about the impeachment.
gotta read ping
But I noticed that Big Bill is OK with the Chinese revisions... ;-)
On, Off, or grab it for a Media Shenanigans/Schadenfreude/PNMCH ping:
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