What struck me immediately is that Levi and Sherry are still being very careful concerning the answering of questions. I was also struck by how Mercedes is much less restrained and seems quite anxious to start talking.
I would love to give her the opportunity.
I am also not very happy about the prospects of Levi writing a book, because I believe what he knows should be shared much sooner than a book would allow. I would also like to help HIM with that.
The interview did not reveal much and it is very clear that the Johnstons are carefully trying to draw the Governor out of hiding to interact with them about Levi's access to Tripp. But I was very happy to see that they may have realized by the end of the interview that they are going to have to take the Palins to court to receive any satisfaction.
By the way I was also happy to hear "Tank" Jones receive that shout out from the Johnston family. Tank was the man who graciously answered my questions about Levi and let me know, and therefore all of you, that he was safe.
Tank is about six foot four and has to go at least three hundred plus pounds. Trust me when I tell you that Levi is SAFE.
Now we all have to sit back and see what Rex Butler and Sherman "Tank" Jones have in mind for future Levi television appearances.
I will embed the videos when they become available.
Update: Here is the only video I can find so far.
Have at it.
TEAM MERCEDE!
ReplyDeletei watched the show. i think they seem a little scared, and who can blame him. i did notice when lk asked levi how old tripp was he said 4 months but then you can see pause as if he was counting in his head.
ReplyDeleteIt was impossible to watch that Larry King Live interview and not feel sympathy for the Johnston family on several levels.
ReplyDeleteThey have all been unfairly treated by the Palins. It is horrible. According to AK law, Levi is entitled to see Tripp 50% of the time!
i agree 100% TEAM MERCEDE!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI just watched the Larry King show. The Johnston family is showing great restraint. How powerful are the Palins in Alaska that everyone is afraid to tell the truth. Why is there never any direct questions regarding both babies. I'm sure LK has heard the rumors. The live question section was a joke. They all came from team Sarah camp.
ReplyDeleteThey did not say much. They seemed very sad and very self-conscious. I don't know what the point was with this interview because I did not notice anything new or even very interesting. A couple times, when asked how they felt about something in particular, Levi and his mom said "I don't know" what their feelings are. Very uptight and that does not come naturally to this group.
ReplyDeleteWell, first we have to remember that it was Larry King - not the brightest bulb nor sharpest knife. Secondly, for their own sakes, the Johnston's still have to keep certain information close to the vest.
ReplyDeleteThere were a few tidbits though. When Levi was talking about telling the Palin's that Bristol was pg and LK asked how they took the news - Levi started to say something to the effect of "how any parents of a si/eighteen year old girl would..."(si = sixteen?)...and then also too BP wasn't eighteen until last October - true?
So, Bristol hates Mercede and insisted that Levi not talk to his sister last fall. Seems to me as if they were fast friends when TriggyBear arrived on the scene. Wasn't there a pic of the two of them with a caption to the effect of "my sister-in-law, I love her so". They never got along? That girl is a veritable fountain of knowledge. I'll buy that TEAM MERCEDE shirt!!!
And of course, everything got worse for the Johnston's after the Tyra interview - guess that no one on the other side of the family could manage to take a step back to see the mess they were making since nothing is ever their fault - must be nice to never be accountable to anyone.
Even if the Palin's loosen up the very tight reins they have on BP and the baby(ies), Levi definitely needs to get things done legally - for now and for the future as the Palin's never learned how to share and play nicely with others.
LK did ask one of the questions I wanted an answer to: about the "modelling/acting career" that so many C4Pers are saying Levi said he has great interest in.
ReplyDeleteI know I heard the question originally from Maggie Rodriguez in the CBS interview, and she got the usual Levi-Johnston-noncommittal-grunt answer at first -- as if the idea never entered his head until just that moment.
Well, now we know he's aware he has options! And he has an "agent" -- this Tank Jones serving as both bodyguard and agent?
I did not watch the show. I am and have been boycotting CNN since the John King/Dick Cheney interview about a month ago. So I was depending on my blogger friends to analyze this interview for me. It sounds very disappointing and tentative - like there is something there that is not being said? How did Larry King respond to this because I do tend to like and trust his interviewing most of the time (not all) and what did the Sarah supporters ask? Thanks to anyone/everyone sharing info with me; I really can no longer watch CNN or read a report from that source.
ReplyDeleteI did not watch the interview as I am and have been for several weeks boycotting CNN (since the infamous John King/Dick Cheney interview). So thanks in advance to my AK blogger friends who write about the interview. It sounds as though there were things that maybe were obviously NOT SPOKEN? What did Larry King say/do ... and what did the Sarah Palin supporters ask/say?
ReplyDeleteOne thing was obvious--Levi and mom got seriously "styled". They looked a lot cleaner and more put together. Sis doesn't need as much help. Another thing, what is up with Levi first saying "no" they have no lawyer and then, after a convenient commerical break, "yes" we have a lawyer? I mean, how is that a confusing question? Maybe they are so out of their element that they don't know what to do. But geez, some of the questions they did not answer were real soft balls and still they avoided answering.
ReplyDeleteI'm still waiting for the Johnstons to sit down with Charlie Rose.
ReplyDeleteI found one short clip of the interview on YouTube, but this spoof was funny:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtE5MNTAB74
Did I hear Larry correctly? At about 3:00 he says "he could see but one son occasionally but it has to be at the house." What does he know?
ReplyDelete7:48
ReplyDeleteHe did say "he could see but one son occasionally"
LK might knw something...but can't say it directly...thats why so many questions to Levi RE: court.
ReplyDeleteT E A M
M E R C E D E
Wow,Anonymous@7:48 you are right. Larry did say 'one of your sons'. None of the Johnstons corrected him either. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Larry King will be Sarah Palin's Waterloo.
ReplyDeleteO.K.,Gryphen, it's showtime at the O.K. Corral!
ReplyDeleteOn your blog dated April 15th, you mentioned Levi was lawyered up. If you check the comments, you will see where I questioned this. Rex Butler (as I found out later) called him his client. Still, from what you said, you were trying to locate Mr. Butler to confirm this. Todate, we have not heard anything.
On Lk's show tonight, when first asked, Levi said "NO" he did not have an attorney. They went to commercial and when they came back, he changed his story.
So, what is it? Has Levi hired Rex Butler as an attorney to get custody of Tripp(?), or did he just hire Tank Jones to do more PR for him.
Seriously, someone is taking advantage of him. He does not have the stage presence nor the speaking ability to be on national t.v. He extracts so much sympathy from people simply because of this.
Stay home, Levi, get a job, and pursue custody of Tripp(?) thru the courts!
God Bless!
Ginger
He didn't say "one son" - he said "but once on occasion"
ReplyDeleteLarry said
ReplyDelete"but once on occasion"- does that make sense?
He has every right to see his son and have 50% custody. I enjoy looking at him but i do not think i would read any book that he allows his name to be part of.
ReplyDeleteI have listened to this part of the clip (more times than I would care to admit) and I am pretty sure he is saying,
ReplyDelete"but one son, occasionally, has to be in the house." If you try to think of "one son" as "once," as has been suggested, it just doesn't make any sense. The only way that could make sense is if Levi had said that he had only been able to see Tripp once. He didn't say that and we know that isn't the case.
These people are buttonned up very tightly and they lack the ability to be glib and disingenuous. If they can't answer the question honestly they are unable to respond. To their credit, they aren't good at doublespeak wordy, meaningless answers. They just say, "I don't know." I really feel sorry for them.
Ginger,
ReplyDeleteI think if you watch the tape you'll see that LK covers that when they return from break and Levi indicates that he was hesitant to say he'd hired an attorney b/c he was afraid to stir up further issues. Too late son.
Seems like Levi and Sherri are worried about taking one wrong step on those eggshells they're walking on. They also look like their sphincters tighten uncomfortably every time Auntie Mercede opens her mouth. Attention Publishers: Now there's your book contract.
Sarah Palin's Waterloo is named Mercede.
8:44 PM
Tank Jones is a Private Investigator that works with Rex Butler. He is a huge guy, I met him at Fort Richardson in February during theBlack History Month Celebration, both Tank and Rex were the guest speakers. They are both great, friendly guys. I am so glad that Rex took the Sherry Johnston case, and I let him know how I felt after the program.
ReplyDeleteIt is: He could see but one son occasionally, but it has to be at the house.
ReplyDeleteLK asks: Was there every any thought that you wouldn't be the active father of this baby? Drop the word 'active', Larry (I whiffed) King.
ReplyDeleteDNA - pass the swabs Rex.
7:48 Anonymous
ReplyDeleteThanks for noticing that. I went back and listened to the clip over and over and agree with you. The only other thing he might have said is....see but once on occasion".....which doesn't make sense.
Listened to the 2:54-3:01 clip again (and again). It's either:
ReplyDelete"one son occasion"
or
"once on occasion"
While neither make sense, the first choice makes no sense. Disappointing.
Here's another one of our Governor's "You've got to be kidding me" moments.
ReplyDeletehttp://community.adn.com/adn/node/140715
TeamMercede!
ReplyDeleteYou tell em, girlfriend!
I noticed that when LK was asking about Bristol not allowing Levi to talk with Mercede, Levi started answering and LK interrupted with "not in so many words" and Mercede started to say, "yes..." and she was going to expand on that, but Levi answered LK. It sounded to me that while Levi might not have been ordered in so many words not to speak to his sister, Mercede actually did get it in so many words.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot less sympathy for Bristol after watching this.
Pay attention to the announcement made about the interview "He fathered Sarah Palin's first grandchild! That said it all. You don't mention the number of grandchildren unless there is more than one. I am a grandmother, and I never referred to my older grandson as my first. Then I had another grandson, so now I automatically reference their numbers, first and second. On top of that he did say " but one son occasionally... The interview served it's purpose. "Did Sarah Palin try to hide her daughter's pregnancy? That was the other give-a-way. We all know she sold her down the tube on August 29, 2008, so why would she try to hide it. Hiding is pretending to be pregnant and making up a wild story about labor and delivery. I think Levi is getting exposure,and he probably will be getting a book deal. You had to read between the lines of this interview. They did not let much slip out. Rex or someone is behind the discreetness. I will watch it again and look for more clues.
ReplyDeleteGryphen, is there going to be a PayPal donation button here, to help Levi? I think I remember reading about that here recently?
ReplyDeleteTranscripts are up:
ReplyDeletehttp://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0904/22/lkl.01.html
I was a little excited maybe he did say but one son.. the interview was so incredibly dull :( .. so I went back to listen
ReplyDeleteI truly think L. King said
"But once (...dot dot dot.. pause.. ) On occassion"
Clarifying it want just once.. but Levi had said well, no occassion.. so he was lumping this together
Translate:
But once.. well on occassion .. blah blah
They did seem super "tight lipped"
I don't think Levi was supposed to mention the Lawyer.. probably wanted to prevent further Palin backlash..
When the mom came on and the first thing King said was that Levi said he got a lawyer.. Mama's eyes turned into saucers! And then just had to agree.. This was in the show aired last night.. prior to the mom and mercedes coming on
Gryphen, I would LOVE to see you co-author a book with Levi one fine day! If you do, I cordially offer to copy edit, fact-check, and proofread on a pro bono basis. (Years of experience for free, for you and Levi!)
ReplyDelete"Once on occasion" doesn't need to make sense. LK isn't reading from a prepared script - he just had a little stutter or mess up when he spoke. We all do it. He did not say "one son".
ReplyDeleteThis interview on LKL tonight is why I never bother watching Larry King. Not a quick thinker, no follow-up, blah blah blah.
ReplyDeleteI was annoyed that the ticker at the bottom of the screen kept repeating the false McCain/Palin talking point “Couple dated for three years before her pregnancy”. You might want to add “but not exclusively to each other”. Just ask Johnny.
Furthermore, either Larry King and/or his production crew have not done their homework and totally ignorant of the facts, or Larry is accommodating the Palin persuasion by another ticker message that said “Bristol and Levi were high school seniors when she got pregnant”. Hello! If Tripp was actually born on 12/27/08, Bristol was still a junior in high school when she got pregnant. After all, Sarah based her entire cover-up by claiming Bristol was pregnant with Tripp, therefore claiming Bristol couldn’t have been Trig’s birth mother.
And “UU” said it best on Palin’s Deceptions at 7:06 pm: “HOWEVER, the part where they said that Bristol would not let Levi talk to Mercede last summer, and both Mercede and Levi said that he didn't talk to her...it's called FOLLOW UP question, Mr King..how do you keep 2 people from talking to each other if they live in the same house...unless, of course, Levi was "staying at" the Palin's house and NOT living with his own family.”
The positive to come of this was that Larry has clearly stirred up more sympathy/empathy for the Johnston cause. Maybe that's all this was supposed to accomplish. I'm sure Levi and family were briefed on how and what to answer and all questions were prescreened by Rex Butler.
ReplyDeleteLarry King has a big audience..I don't think this was supposed to be tell all as much as another message to Sarah to lossen up or else.
To me it sounds like LK said, "He can see, but once on occasion, and it has to be in the house."
ReplyDeleteI interpret that to mean "He [Levi] can see [his son, based on the previous context] only once in a while..." I think the word "but" can be substituted for the word "only" though it isn't very commonly used in informal language. "Once on occasion" can be an expression of, "occasionally, or once in a while".
Not the most articulate interview for either party, I'd say. I want this story to break as much as you guys do, but I don't think that's the "slip of the tongue" that's going to do it.
What struck me was the way Larry pushed Levi toward legal action.
ReplyDeleteYet it is clear that Levi has not really pushed the issue, has not demanded an explanation.
Worst of all, Levi is not visiting his son much at all, because it is uncomfortable there?
Finally, Levi is not providing child support till they go to court.
Levi doesn't need someone pressuring him toward legal action as much as he needs someone coaching him on how to handle this situation straightforwardly first. Levi needs to visit his son in whatever manner he can, as often as he can. He needs to immediately make at least some effort to provide support. He needs to demand that he be allowed to take his son, and if that demand is refused he needs to go to court the next day and start action on it.
I am disappointed that the three of them sat there as if there was nothing they could do. That's not true.
I still find it very odd that Mercede has Levi's name tattooed on her wrist. Maybe when she becomes a surgeon she can remove it.
ReplyDeleteSorry I haven't watched all of it yet, but if they are represented by an attorney and also plan to go to court in a custody battle, they have been told to keep quiet about anything that could indicate upcoming legal strategy.
ReplyDeleteSo for awhile, unless Mercede flips out and blabs something she shouldn't, we aren't going to hear anything substantial right now.
As for Levi, I'm a Team Levi member. He really made some bad choices and used some bad judgment, but he appears to be trying to step up to the plate and take some responsibility.
I think a lot of the rancid SP behavior is amplified by the Levi/Bristol relationship. I also predict that one day Bristol will stand up and tell her mom to BUTT OUT of her life.
Watched the interview too. I believe the Johnstons are still being very careful what they say because they need to keep the best stuff as leverage for any further disputes, not to mention a book deal. If they spill all of it now nothing left for a book. I've seen all 3 interviews the Johnstons have done and what I see every time Mom or sis is asked to speak, Levi gets nervous and peers over at them as if he's afraid they'll accidentally spill something or say too much. Also noticed his eye movements when he gave Tripps age.
ReplyDeleteI am shocked that Tripp is continually being abused and used as a pawn. I don't see a court telling a father to keep his son away from the boy's aunt simply because the boy's mother hates the aunt or friends.
ReplyDeleteTripp is being denied necessary bonding with his father and his family. Shameful.
There are a lot of secrets. If Bristol did not like Sadie's friend, Levi's ex, well, why was Sadie holding Trig in the Palin's home?????
Great comments. I hope that the Johnstons realize how much support they have and that we absolutely understand the pressure that is put on them from the Palins. It is Sarah's need for control and her arrogance that put them into this horrible public situation.
ReplyDeleteThey are not use to being in the limelight and they know that what they say will be used against them if they make any mis-statements or let too much of the truth out. I think that showed great restraint considering what is at stake. They obviously love their grand-babies and want more control and access.
Sarah should not throw stones. It seems her entire family has made plenty of mistakes. Is she going to keep "everyone" from having access to the kids??
To: Cooky Doogan
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply! I'm just confused as to why Levi would hire a high profile lawyer like Rex Butler. Personally, I know he represents his mother, Sherry, and I think he speaks out for Levi.
The threat Rex Butler threw out..."The Palins will be surprised when Levi tries for 50% custody"...is ridiculous!
Levi has to get a job, take some courses, help support Tripp and show some responsibility before a judge will give him any custody.
Telling LK he has diapers and "stuff" at his house, doesn't cut it. IMHO
Ginger
@Jersey shore...I heard the same slip of a tongue..."si/eighteen. That is exactly what he said. I wondered if anyone else noticed.
ReplyDeleteLaurie
At times I thought Sheri Johnstone acted like she was wearing a listening device in her ear.
ReplyDeleteRobD, that's what up. It's theonly way to beat. He had better take a modeling gig. He needs the $. When he paying child support then well have a fight. A judge wants to see him paying. His attempts to see his soon should mirror the # of interviews he does:) then he may trump Camp Palin.
ReplyDeleteTeam Mercede!!!!! That is too funny. Did you see her grinning as they discussed Tank Jones? Mercede wasn't checkin for Bristol b/c of the ex. Mercedes probably taunted bristol with the friendship with the ex. Did you see that smile on her face. Probably drove Bristol crazy. Team Mercede. I'd wear the shirt.
All I have to say is: we nearly put Sarah, Bristol, Levi and his meth