You might remember Joe McGinnis. He’s the creepy guy who rented a house next door to Sarah Palin while he wrote a book about her. The book was released two days ago. Today, Andrew Breitbart released an email showing that McGinnis doesn’t believe many of the allegations he wrote in the book.
McGinnis wrote the email to blogger, Jesse Griffin, on January 27, 2011. At the time, McGinnis’s publisher was fact-checking his book. McGinnis was clearly frustrated that he couldn’t find evidence of things that he wanted to allege about Palin. He seemed to be challenging Griffin to provide him some evidence. Here’s a key passage from the email:
No one has ever provided factual evidence that:
a) Todd had sex with a hooker, or with anyone else outside his marriage.
b) Sarah had an affair with Brad Hanson, or anyone else.
c) Track was a druggie who enlisted in the army to avoid a jail term. Or that he vandalized Wasilla school buses.
d) Willow was involved in the vandalism of the empty house in Meadow Lakes. Or that Sarah rushed back from Hawaii to put the lid on that.
e) Trig is not Sarah’s natural born child.
f) Bristol was promiscuous as a high schooler and drank and used drugs, or became pregnant again after Tripp’s birth.
Breitbart notes:
Yet almost all of these accusations appear in McGinniss’s book, without any substantial proof beyond gossip, and without any apparent new information to address the lack of “factual evidence” in January 2011.
Furthermore, McGinniss continues to promote his claims, as he did yesterday in his remarks about Trig Palin in an appearance on The View to promote his book.
Today, on the Hugh Hewitt radio show Breitbart said he plans to release more details of McGinnis’s dishonesty. I can’t wait.
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Comments :
May '10
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
Will the Leftists ever wake up and say, "What is wrong with our side, that we have to keep embarrassing ourselves like this?!?"
Oh, probably never. *Sigh* I can dream.
Apr '11
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
These emails may get Gov. Palin over the very high bar that the law (the Supreme Court in NY Times v. Sullivan) sets for libel suits by "public figures" such as the Governor. When the author himself admits he has no support (other than third hand rumor) for his most serious assertions, he has just handed Gov. Palin a winning legal claim. Absolutely amazing.
Jan '11
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
Joe McGinnis - a monument to onanism.
Jun '10
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
Well of course Todd Palin never had sex with a hooker. He's a big cross-dressing woman who's only attracted to petite cross-dressing men, like his dear husband, Sarah. Everybody knows that.
Apr '11
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
You are applying our way of thinking to those who do not think like us. That would be our reaction. I find the left's reaction is far more likely to be along the lines of tolerating such scandalous behavior because they seem to think the ends justify the means. They don't care if none of the salacious lies about Palin are true, they just want her destroyed. Their concern doesn't revolve around the truth, it revolves around their political agenda.
This, in my opinion, is something our side needs to understand about the left. How can the left happily claim that the Obama administration has "created or saved" millions of jobs when in fact millions upon millions of jobs have actually been lost? Simply the truth isn't going to get in their way of their agenda.
Dec '10
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
Chris Deleon: Will the Leftists ever wake up and say, "What is wrong with our side, that we have to keep embarrassing ourselves like this?!?"
Oh, probably never. *Sigh* I can dream. · Sep 22 at 7:17pm
What they actually say is, "What is wrong with our side, that we can't make these attacks stick?"
Mar '11
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
This is all so sordid, it is distasteful that we are even repudiating this dreck. By discussing this we are giving a concession and not simply classifying vermin as vermin.
How does giving dignity to such calumny advance a discussion of serious principles? I admire Breitbart's work yet it is impossible not to see that this is simply feeding distraction. Bread and Circus.
Aug '11
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
Look. You never know what a persons character is till you dig deep. I don't get the skeepin' around, cocaine snorting vibe from the Palin's though. And I'm sorely tempted to side with her cause of her critics. Look. I think its all smear but I haven't read it so I must stay agnostic. I wanna agree with Roberto. Don't talk about and for goodness sakes don't buy the book "to see whether it's true or not." I wanna agree.
Aug '11
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
Also. I read the link. If this is real this is huge. And so it probably wont make it to the MSM. But still. It seems big. Breitbart does good work. His book wasn't amazing but it was enjoyable and I felt that I got to know him better. I read it in the airport. Fort Lauderdale to Hartford. Not a long book. But happy I bought it.
Aug '11
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
Posted twice.
Edited on Sep 22, 2011 at 8:36pmJun '10
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
Roberto, I'm of two minds on this stuff. In the first instance I, as you, feel that we should not give this smear oxygen. In the second instance I know that sometimes you have to work your way through an avalanche to prove that we are far superior to our enemies. This above all is what Sarah Palin proves on a daily basis. This is not to say that she is the best candidate for anything, that's not my point, but what it does say is that she is of superior character. It is a rare human being that can walk through this sort of calumny with equanimity.
Dec '10
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
While Palin is a little too socially conservative to fit with my libertarian leanings, I respect her intelligence and admire her integrity, gumption, and general grace in the face of the ridicule heaped on her by the left. Nonetheless, she would not be in my top 5 choices for President of the United States and I hope she does not run anytime soon.
Mr. Warwick is correct in that it appears that McGinnis and his publisher have violated the "malice" standard set by the Supremes in NY Times v. Sullivan. If the evidence pans out to more than a colorable claim, Ms. Palin would do the country a great service by suing McGinnis for everything he has and ever will earn and (hopefully) saddling his publisher with a huge punitive damages award. While I am not overly optimistic that such an outcome would cause the left to focus on the issues rather than character asassination, it would at least cause them to pause before spreading outrageous fantasies that are unsupported by evidence.
Nov '10
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
I'm with you. The national media have peeled Palin's past back to the bone. They sent an army of reporters to Wasilla when she ran with McCain, they had another army of volunteer radicals to pore over all of her emails as governor, they moved some creep with binoculars in next to her... and all they have to show for it is unsubstantiated rumors of stuff that would actually be pretty easy to substantiate if it were true.
My challenge to anyone on Ricochet, tell me that you'd come up this clean if the last 20 years of your life got this treatment. I certainly wouldn't.
Jun '10
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
redshift ...
... I find the left's reaction is far more likely to be along the lines of tolerating such scandalous behavior because they seem to think the ends justify the means. They don't care if none of the salacious lies about Palin are true, they just want her destroyed. Their concern doesn't revolve around the truth, it revolves around their political agenda.
...
Yes, because they think conservatives are vile and underhanded -- they think they have to do the same. It's just like with their insistence that violence is just about to break out in the Tea Party and Talk Radio listeners. Violence on their side is just an example of how frustrated they are that we get away with being so violent and encouraging so much violence.
But their own violence? It's all understandable when they consider what they are up against. And don't forget that the people who can actually be counted on to be violent are completely certain of their side's points. Let's face it -- Hilary said that there is a vast right wing conspiracy. Does she believe it? She only cares that others believe it -- that I do know.
Jun '10
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
Starve the Beast
I'm with you. The national media have peeled Palin's past back to the bone. They sent an army of reporters to Wasilla when she ran with McCain, they had another army of volunteer radicals to pore over all of her emails as governor, they moved some creep with binoculars in next to her... and all they have to show for it is unsubstantiated rumors of stuff that would actually be pretty easy to substantiate if it were true.
My challenge to anyone on Ricochet, tell me that you'd come up this clean if the last 20 years of your life got this treatment. I certainly wouldn't. · Sep 22 at 9:23pm
Great points all.
I wish that they could find time to look into Obama's past with as much vigor. Obama could not meet your challenge.
Jun '10
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
redshift
They don't care if none of the salacious lies about Palin are true, they just want her destroyed. Their concern doesn't revolve around the truth, it revolves around their political agenda.
The odd part is that they can't seem to grasp that these baseless attacks win her sympathy and serve only to make her more, not less, popular.
Apr '11
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
Recently on NPR I heard some NPR employee say something
like "Dan Rather was let go after he used forged documents
that showed that GWB was not a good airman but no one has
seriously questioned the underlying story about GWB".
The tone was "Even when we're wrong we're actually right.
GWB was a lousy airman". I've seen online images of
one these "documents" compared to the same text typed
into MSWord with the default settings and the document is
an obvious, embarrassing forgery. I don't get why anyone
would want to be associated with it even to the extent that
the NPR person was.
Oct '10
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
Having had long discussions with Progressives and Liberals on such topics, one found there is an unusual inflexible mindset there.
Seems there is a real need to fall in line behind a falsehood. Any facts presented are viewed as false constucts presented by a never ending evil. Very odd.
Sep '10
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
I assumed that any book produced by this character would be little more than gossip and believed most would think the same. The thing I find most interesting is that once again Breitbart is breaking this story. I gather he is the only working conservative journalist remaining. I have heard and read enough about liberal bias in the press, perhaps it is about time we hear something about conservative journalist’s laziness and ineptness.
May '10
Re: Breitbart Does It Again, Releases Email Showing that Palin-Hit-Piece Author Doesn’t Believe his own Allegations
I like that Breitbart is making the story about the author. He's not giving the smears undue attention by refuting them. Instead, he's focussing on the moral bankruptcy of the Palin attackers.
Once again, the Palins come out looking better than they looked before.