Initially reported by Human Events and the Drudge Report, on Sunday, June 3, Edward Klein’s must-read biography of President Obama, The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House (Regnery Publishing), will debut at #1 on the New York Times  bestseller List.  Klein has released three hours of audio of his exclusive interview with Rev. Jeremiah Wright in which Wright revealed exclusively and on-the-record to Klein that close Obama friend Eric Whitaker offered Wright a $150,000 bribe to remain silent in the months leading up the 2008 presidential election.  Neither Wright nor Whitaker have denied this story, even though the tapes were first aired over a week ago on the Sean Hannity Show.  Their silence suggests there is truth to the story, which begs the larger question about whether or not then candidate (and future President) Barack Obama was aware of the bribery attempt.  To interview Klein about his bestselling book, or to obtain the full audio of his interview with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, please contact me at jlittle@crcpublicrelations.com or by calling 703-683-5004 ext.159.  Of note:

On Wright, Byron York, Washington Examiner: http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/article/new-allegation-rev-wright-needs-answer/555561

“Is Wright’s version of the story correct? Did Whitaker actually make the offer Wright says he did? If so, did Obama know about it? And where would the money have come from? All are questions that deserve answers.

There’s no doubt Whitaker is close to the president. Whitaker was with Obama during the president’s last Christmas vacation in Hawaii — and the Christmas before that and the Christmas before that and the Christmas before that. Whitaker was also with Obama last summer on Martha’s Vineyard — and the summer before that and the summer before that.”

On Valerie Jarrett – the most powerful woman no one knows about, Matt Lewis, Daily Caller: http://dailycaller.com/2012/05/24/conservatives-preemptively-urge-courage-from-the-scotus-on-obamacare/

“According to the book, written by former New York Times Magazine editor Edward Klein, many of Obama’s most liberal and costly political mistakes stemmed from Jarrett’s advice.  Jarrett reportedly hatched the idea of Obama flying to Copenhagen to ‘make a dramatic presentation to the International Olympic Committee’ for Chicago’s Olympic bid — and also encouraged Obama’s visit to ‘the Bay area solar company Solyndra’ — despite the protestations of Lawrence Summers (who in 2009 warned against the loan guarantee) and others.”

On the Obamas’ past marital problems, Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/washington-secrets/2012/05/book-michelle-threatened-divorce-after-barack%E2%80%99s-2000-loss/609751

“First lady Michelle Obama warned her husband not to challenge former Black Panther and four-term Rep. Bobby Rush in 2000, threatening divorce when Barack Obama got walloped in his first bid for national office, a new biography of the president claims. ‘Michelle actually had divorce papers drawn up,’ author Edward Klein wrote, quoting one of Mrs. Obama’s friends. In the unauthorized ‘The Amateur,’ Klein also said that Obama was talking divorce after the loss. ‘This was a calamitous turn of events, and during the dark days that followed his defeat, he turned to Michelle for comfort. But she was in no mood to offer him sympathy. After all, he had refused to listen to her warnings about taking on the formidable Bobby Rush. He had put his family in a precarious financial position. And he had dashed Michelle’s hopes of creating a stable and secure future. As a result, their marriage was on the rocks, and Obama confided to friends that he and Michelle were talking about divorce.’”

On Bill Clinton urging Hillary to run against Obama in 2012, Carl Campanile, New York Post: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/bill_blockbuster_an_amateur_XJHYdaV5LT1vpr5I39IKrN

“Bill Clinton thought so little of President Obama — mocking him as an “amateur” — that he pressed his wife last summer to quit her job as secretary of state and challenge him in the primaries, a new book claims. …  The title of Klein’s explosive, unauthorized bio of Obama, ‘The Amateur’ (Regnery Publishing), was taken directly from Bill Clinton’s bombshell criticism of the president, the author said.  ‘Barack Obama,’ Bill Clinton said, according to book excerpts, ‘is an amateur.’ Obama, Bill Clinton said, ‘doesn’t know how to be president’ and is ‘incompetent.’ But Hillary resisted the entreaties, according to two of the guests interviewed for the book. ‘Why risk everything now?’ a skeptical Hillary told her husband, emphasizing that she wanted to leave a legacy as secretary of state. ‘Because,’ Bill replied, his voice rising, ‘the country needs you!’”