A few media commentators proclaimed, somewhat hysterically, that his company's recent acquisition of Jonathan Mahler's book "The Challenge" was the most controversial of his career. The story follows the long campaign waged by U.S. Navy lawyer Charles Swift and Georgetown law professor Neal Katyal to ensure a fair trial for Salim Hamdam, the bodyguard and driver for Osama bin Laden.

Swift's efforts resulted in a landmark 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Guantanamo Bay military commissions ordered for Hamdan and other detainees violated the Geneva Convention and the Uniform Code for Military Justice. That ruling was hailed in some quarters as the Supreme Court's most important decision ever on presidential power and the rule of law.

Some conservative pundits jumped on news of Clooney's project -- and were quick to note his support for Barack Obama.

Last week, a story in the London Daily Mail claimed that Clooney routinely traded emails with Obama and advised him on issues, at the very time that the candidate is taking heat from rival John McCain for his celebrity status. But the story staked its claim on unidentified sources -- and not even Bill O'Reilly believed it.

Clooney issued a statement, saying, "I have never texted or emailed Senator Obama. And I'll offer a million dollars to anyone who could prove otherwise. In fact, I've only talked to the senator once in the last year and a half ... on the phone."

Clooney will headline a fundraiser for Obama on Sept. 2, but it will be in Switzerland, and perhaps away from the media glare.