Mark Obama Ndesandjo, half-brother to President Barack Obama, has backed out of an agreement to give an interview to filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza for his upcoming documentary, “America.”
Conservative scholar Dinesh D'Souza gets into a taxicab after pleading not guilty to charges that he violated campaign finance laws, Jan. 14, 2014 in New York (AP)
Likely to serve as another scathing indictment of the Obama White House, “America” will now have to move forward without input from Ndesandjo, whose politics don’t align with the president's.
Ndesandjo reportedly withdrew from giving the interview after the filmmaker was indicted on charges he violated campaign finance laws, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Had he landed the interview, it would've marked the second time that D'Souza had a chance to sit down with one of Obama's relatives.
For his 2012 documentary, “2016: Obama's America,” the conservative filmmaker sat down with George Obama, another half-brother to the president.
The indictment and Ndesandjo’s subsequent withdrawal could fuel speculation that the campaign finance charges brought against D'Souza were done so to stifle his latest project, the Hollywood Reporter noted.
Ndesandjo was reportedly first contacted in January and agreed to do an in-person interview either in the U.S. or in China. But in February, a representative for Ndesandjo emailed D'Souza’s people to cancel the interview, according to an email obtained but the Hollywood Reporter.
"Upon reconsideration, Mark has decided it would not be appropriate to join your project while the Federal investigation of Mr. D'Souza is ongoing," the email said.
Obama in his book, "Dreams From My Father," recalled a visit with Ndesandjo in Kenya in which the half-brothers discussed their father.
"I made a decision not to think about who my real father was. He was dead to me even when he was still alive. I knew he was a drunk and showed no concern for his wife or children," Ndesandjo said, according to Obama's account in the book.
Obama recalled asking his half-brother whether it bothered him that he was unmoved by memories of their father.
“Other things move me. Beethoven's symphonies. Shakespeare's sonnets. I know it's not what an African is supposed to care about. But who's to tell me what I should and shouldn't care about?" Ndesandjo responded.
Asked for comment about the interview cancellation, “America” producer Gerald Molen told the Hollywood Reporter in an email: "Mark is more than just a brother of the president — he's a living example of the importance of America and the attractiveness of entrepreneurial capitalism. … We were looking forward to hearing a different Obama message from a different Obama, but it was not allowed to happen."
"Obama and the progressive movement have created an atmosphere of 'they disagree with us ... get them!' We see this for what it is, political intimidation," the email added. "America deserves better. The charges against Dinesh should be dropped ... now.”
The filmmaker's trial is scheduled for next week.
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