Author Daniel Halper Thinks Bill O'Reilly Has Fallen for 'Clinton Tactics'

The Weekly Standard's Daniel Halper, author of Clinton, Inc., suggested that Fox News's Bill O'Reilly was tricked by the Clinton team into canceling a scheduled interview with Halper.

Halper wrote a piece for Politico Magazine in June claiming that his book is under fire from the "Clinton PR machine." He stated that a CNN producer told him he wouldn't recieve any airtime "because the Clintons punish networks that give space to their perceived enemies."

Halper has appeared on very few news shows - MSNBC's Morning Joe and Fox News. In a column for the Weekly Standard, he suggested that the Clinton team may have had something to do with the cancelation of an appearance he had scheduled on Fox's The O'Reilly Factor. He wrote that Clinton loyalists have worked to tie his book, which contains many on-the-record interviews, to the more gossipy Clinton book Blood Feud by Ed Klien.

Halper said: "I don't know Mr. Klein, so I can't speak to his integrity or his motivations. I can say that both his book and mine were to have been published by imprints of HarperCollins (his ended up being published elsewhere). I can also say that my book withstood thorough legal vetting and review by a lawyer (who, for what it's worth, openly expressed support for President Obama and the Democratic party).

Despite this, the Clintons' shopworn tactics appear to still have traction with the media. One well-known TV host, who originally agreed to have me on his show to discuss my book, commented the other week, apparently about my book and Klein's: "There is a bunch of books around now that are harsh towards various people. And the books are built on anonymous sources. . . . I just feel queasy putting authors on who come in and they say pretty terrible things about people."

The Clintons' tactic may work again. But I hope it doesn't."

That quote from a "TV host" comes from what O'Reilly said on-air last month. Halper was scheduled for an appearance on The O'Reilly Factor to promote his book. Halper told Mediaite that he doesn't know why his appearance on the Factor was canceled and when asked if he thought O'Reilly had been pressured by the Clintons, he said no. He said, "I don't think anyone intimidates Bill O'Reilly. My point was about the Clintons. Their tactic is to lump any criticism of them around someone who they feel is discredited. By lumping me in with Ed Klein at every opportunity, the Clintons are hoping that credible, high-profile journalists will be misled about my sourcing."

O'Reilly Factor executive producer Amy Sohnen explained to Mediaite: "Once we further looked into the book after receiving a copy, we decided to not go with the interview because it relied heavily on anonymous sources throughout. Neither Bill nor the show was bullied or pressured by anyone."

However, there is a record of Clinton aides tying Halper to Klein. An aide told Politico, "Daniel Halper has joined the discredited and disgraced ranks of Ed Klein." Progressive media site Media Matters connected Halper and Klein in a post headlined, "The summer of nonsense." Another statement put out by Clinton spokesmen called Halper and Klein "despicable actors."

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