A number of you have asked what I thought of the latest post over at Syrin's Blog.
Well what I think is that she may very well be right. I even hinted at this possibility last Friday.
I have heard from a variety of sources that Palin was paying off the Johnston family, and than from a few other sources I heard rumors that the money was going to come from this brand new book deal. At this point these can only be categorized as rumors since I have not yet been able to corroborate them.
I also need to point out that I have another source close to the Johnston's who categorically denies this is the case. However that source has proven elusive for the last few days and I have not been able to pin them down for an interview about this new information.
A few weeks ago I also managed to conduct an interview with a member of the Johnston family (Don't bother guessing because I am not ready to go public with that person's identity yet), and during that interview I learned some interesting information and also used the opportunity to make the point that time was not on their side and they needed to move ahead with any book deal or revelation before somebody else scooped them on their own story. Since that conversation there has been a LOT of buzz coming from the Valley which confirms that I was correct in my prediction.
For those waiting for the metaphorical "iceberg" I am going to break one of my own rules and confess that this was the week that everything was to come out. I made a promise to wait, and wait I have. But if I am unable to get the final pieces of this puzzle, like I was promised for this week, than I am going to have to go forward with what I have and hope that it will cause others to speak out as well.
This is not how I want to do this since I did make promises and I NEVER break a promise, but that is also contingent on others keeping their part of the bargain.
By the way I am not the only one who has this information and will not be the only blogger making posts about this scandal. Sarah Palin may think she can buy or bully the truth, but she is sadly misinformed. It has been my goal all along to find and reveal the truth, and that is exactly what I and my friends intend to do.
Update: Okay I just received word from another one of my sources, who is very much in the know, who denies outright that the Johnston's have received any money from Sarah, or are GOING to receive any money from Sarah.
I am trying to set up a meeting to get the whole rundown and then I will hopefully have something concrete to share about this issue. And I also hope to hear pretty soon from my other source about the bigger story.
If you find yourself confused by all of the conflicting stories and contradictory information than all I can say is, "Welcome to my life!"
I am cautiously optimistic about your deadline for the big reveal.
ReplyDeleteMy actual expectation is that the complete, truthful account of the Palin/Heath family will be told only after this ruthless, vindictive woman no longer has the resources of the state to harass those that challenge her.
waiting eagerly
ReplyDeleteGo for it. She is too dangerous a woman to let her away with anything. Maybe the PAC and Trust fund aren't pulling in the dollars, hence the book deal to shut the Johnstons up.
ReplyDeleteI hope you stay four steps ahead on this. I am so fearful that she will "buy" the Johnson's silence and the truth will never be out. That family obviously needs funds and may be willing to take the highest offer. If this happens, WE rely on you and your fellow bloggers to tell what you know, regardless on where the other chips are falling.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, you said it. Boy did you sum it all up. How this woman ever grew beyond the Valley astounds me.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I can hardly imagine what would tarnish her walk-on-water appeal to her base.
Gryphen, you torture us. But you are going about it as best you can, with accountability and unassailable fact. I hope, also, too.
If her book were a stock, I might invest. Scandal sells a lot more than moose chili recipes peppered with Bible verses also.
ReplyDeleteMy husband said, ONLY a payoff scandal? I said, maybe but WHAT is it buying? that will finally bring on Big Media.
Everyone I know in the publishing industry in NY is trying to find out how much Palin's book deal was for--even Harper Collins editors don't know. Educated guesses say it probably wasn't for more than $1 million, 2 at the most, so this rumor sounds plausible since it isn't using that unbelievable $11 million figure she was originally asking for. As one agent I spoke to said, "What's she going to write about that we don't already know? It's not like she's going to reveal any secrets or any deep thoughts. Her audience will consist of Team Sarah types and leftwing pundits who want to make fun of her." When you realize that she will make $2.50 per book, you see that they would need to sell 400,000 copies to make back even a $1 million advance. She's not going to sell that many. All contracts have a royalties clause, but I doubt she will earn out her advance. No one besides Harper Collins was even interested. However, Murdock could have given her a bigger advance than he knew she would earn as a slick way to hand her a hefty campaign contribution. Needless to say, HC editors are irate, since they have taken huge cuts.
ReplyDeleteIt's a well known fact that dirty secrets like this open politicians to blackmail--not just by friends but by powerful special interests. Which is why Sarah needs to be kept far, far from Washington. I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say.
Thanks for telling us (in advance).I am pissed at the Johnstons (as well as Sarah). It's just asvunethical for them to take money!! I don't care if they need the funds or not! Especially if it turns out that Levi is the father! They have been treated like crap by Sarah and all the money in the world won't change that! I am really disappointed in them if this is true.
ReplyDeleteCome on people who know! Break this open, do the moral thing and talk!
You know who is hurt the most by all of this? Trig!! He may have Downs but he is a person being used ad a political pawn and bargaining chip. That is disgusting!!!!! It also does not sound like he is getting the early intervention he needs and deserves. They don't know yet if he will be a mild or severe case. This whole thing makes me sick! If Sarahs excuse in her little pea brainbis that she is protecting him and Bristol, she is wrong.
Why does this woman get away with so much?? Because people in Alaska are allowing it!!
Back in the day when Randi Rhodes was on Air America, I remember hearing a program about right wing books and how they were such big sellers, example, Ann Coulter. Randi explained that right wing website buy up huge blocks of the books in advance, kicking the book up to the NY Times Best Seller list, which encourages others to buy. Then, the right wing website runs some kind of promotion such as: donate $$$ and we'll send you a copy of this latest best seller (it's a best seller because we just bought a whole bunch of them and made it a best seller). I imagine this is the kind of treatment planned for Sarah's book, and it will be an opportunity for her to appear in her regular haunts (Fox, People) to plug the book. Just offering this as a "heads up" so we aren't dazzled by it's being a best seller. By the way, MidnightCajun, since you are connected with the publishing world, please weigh in with any information that you have on how the book-industry creates and promotes best sellers. (Of course the trouble for Sarah and her book is that it will be cross referenced with every other statement she ever made, so she will have to keep track of her stories before committing them to print).
ReplyDeleteLevi .. the truth will set you free. Taking any payments from Sarah and company will lead to bigger problems in the future. The time to break free is now.
ReplyDeleteStaying silent and collecting money directly or indirectly from SarahPac, Sarah’s slush fund (Alaska Fund Trust) or Sarah’s book deal is not wise or ethical.
Write your own book … collect the money…then get on with your life… unencumbered with any connection to Sarah….. or stay connected to Sarah and she will take you down to her level of deceit.
Levi choose wisely…. The rest of your entire life is at stake.
I think the truth will out - it always does. Palin is not going to make enough money on this book deal to silence the Johnson family. I agree with Midnightcajun, what is she going to reveal that we don't already know? She has been so arrogant and controlling and down right mean, I am quite sure there are many, many people who are waiting for her to fall. Thanks again Gryphen for your tenacity on this always fascinating subject.
ReplyDeleteGryphen,
ReplyDeleteI bet the promise to reveal secrets this week was premised on Sherry having her trial/plea bargain yesterday. It was postponed a week. So too will be the confessions. I'd rather no one compromise Sherry on whatever she needs to do.
That said, you had written before about prosecutors playing hardball with Sherry. I wonder if Friday's decision to delay for her to consider options, is because the prosecutors are now willing to reduce the charges to something she would consider pleading no contest to and take probation. Furthermore, could that be not only because of Rex Butler's skill, but also because of pressure from the Gov, i.e., is legal help part of the payoff alleged by Syrin?
Thank you ever so much for staying on the case.
Anonymous at 7:13,
ReplyDeleteYou might enjoy reading this book:
http://tinyurl.com/qwlhw8
p.s. -- When Sherry said in her Mothers Day interview that the Johnstons and Palins were not at war and Bristol was telling her she could see TriPP whenever she wished, I wondered then what Sarah was doing to make Sherry happy. The "war" was not a media creation, it was a Johnston creation, revealed nicely but clearly in TV interviews. I don't think it was a "creation."
ReplyDeleteI think it would be hysterical if the story about the pay off was true, and then the Johnston family was able to get Palin for bribery.
ReplyDelete7:13 thank you for bringing that up about how the books are promoted and sold.
ReplyDeletehttp://tiny.cc/BULKbks
The Johnston family may think whatever the amount that it's lots o' money. It will go fast and they will be bound in the worst ways to Palin's hell on earth. They will be as dirty as she is when it comes to the babies well being.
I think the Sherry's case plays into this deal. We'll see how good of a deal she gets.
Hope Rex has Sherry and Levi recording every conversation with Sarah and/or her messengers.
ReplyDeleteYes, it would be very good to see Sarah trying to buy Johnston family silence revealed. This will be a career ending event.
It is hard to imagine just how SP could permanently "buy off" the Johnston family. For one thing, the after-tax portion of the first installment of the advance might not be as much as SP thinks it would be. And any family court judge likely would give Levi the right to see TriPP.
ReplyDeleteIf SP thinks she can buy permanent silence about who TriG's biological mother is, I doubt it. The Johnstons can't possibly be the only ones who know the details, and once the stopper--of a payoff--is out of the bottle, everything will gush forth, everyone will talk. and many of them will speak to the press. Imagine a judge trying to put a journalist in jail for refusing to reveal his or her sources on TriGgate!
Agree totally with Anon 7:52--it would be perfect if the Johnstons (now well advised by counsel) managed to "get" SP for bribery. It would be a payback of a sort. Though obviously diverting Schedule II narcotics is illegal, what I remember reading is this: Some meth-using Wasilla mothers, whose children were taken away for parental neglect after appearing at school hungry and dirty, were told that they could get their children back from CPS if they participated in a sting, by purchasing OxyContin from Sherry J. So they did, and Sherry's arrest was postponed until after the November elections. (That's what I remember; tell me if I'm wrong, of course.)
If we remember back to midsummer of 2008, GINO was only a national figure outside of Alaska to policy wonks like me who were following Troopergate, and a handful of others, like William Kristol, who saw her as a hot-mama future for the GOP. Now that she's a nationally known figure, SP cannot retaliate against every single person who now might spill. The Palinbots would back her up, but they are a small, and shrinking, minority of Americans.
Go, Gryphen!
Good for you! I, for one, would be far more interested in anything the Johnstons say over the Palin version of recent "history."
ReplyDelete@midnightcajun,
ReplyDeleteI am familiar with NYC publishing people too, but consider this; HC might post a loss on the book, but Murdoch will make it up elsewhere, namely on the advertising rate card during her media appearances, most profitably FOX television. Select advertisers will pay over rate card for time slots in and around her appearances.
I really hope the Johnstons do spill the beans. But let's face it - they aren't exactly a family of choirboys. The only reason they won't take the hush money is if they think they can get a better deal elsewhere or for self-preservation (they think someone else is about to spill the beans so come clean first so they can put their own spin on it.)
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I support the Johnstons over the Palins is that the Johnstons are not a danger to Alaska and the U.S. In the meantime, let's try to find someone else willing to talk, and then leak the information to the Johnstons so they'll come forth first, and with greater details.
I hope all the hype is true, otherwise this is going to be like letting the last of the air out of a balloon. Any thinking person familar with Sarah's wild ride story and the pictures of her unpregnant knows deep down that she faked it. So there will be no surprise there that will stop the earth's rotation that day. Just a couple of raised eyebrows from those not in the know who haven't followed the Palin soap opera. Who the real mom is is understandably a question for many. Some do know, positively because they are close to it, or they believe. Even the maet haras ers, and the Cee4Pees they know Sarah faked it, and will go to their graves defending her because they would feel like fools otherwise or feel that Sarah has some higher bibilical, fatalistic calling. So if this is really big, it is not just going to be she faked it, it is going to be the unmentionable. And by that I mean Sarah who lies her way in and out of every situation, even this to her is as low as she could go.
ReplyDeleteGryphen,
ReplyDeleteI was reminded of something this week about the scandals that were out there and after reading the Juneau Empires account of how the C4P people were trying to make 'Sarah the vicim'... AGAIN! They were trying to demonize the Thoma fella and show what a bad character he was .... 25 YEARS AGO! Since none are from AK and have no idea of the history... I guess they never heard the stories (or did the research) about 'First Dud'... 30 yrs ago. Who was doing the same thing in 1986.Hypocrisy.... and ironic..?
I take it THIS is not listed as an accomplishment on the State website.
I had saved this link in my files.
http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2008/09/todd-palin-arrested-for-dui/
Levi...Don't take the money! You will make more by writing your own book. If you allow a bribe from the Queen, your life will be hell. Better to get the painful truth out and move on. Do the right thing. Keeping a secret for the rest of your life will be a living hell.
ReplyDeleteFor comparison's sake, here are the numbers on Coulter's latest books:
ReplyDeleteHer 2006 Godless: The Church of Liberalism, sold 279,100 copies in hardcover, according to BookScan; Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terror, published in 2003, sold 396,600 hardcover copies, and 2002's Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right, sold 333,100 copies, plus another 108,300 in paperback.
Sarah's bio wouldn't sell at anywhere those figures, since Coulter's books have a wider audience. And the final figures on Coulter's latest book aren't in yet, but it is selling far below the 2006 book, running at about 200,000 copies. Whoever said rightwing groups/churches buy books in bulk and then give them away is right--that gives a title what we call "velocity" and shoves it onto the lists. A careful "lay down" (controlling when a book hits the shelves, so sales are all clustered in one or two weeks) also effects velocity. Which is probably way more than you'all wanted to know!
If the payoff theory is correct, I wish Levi would just say "thanks but no thanks" and write his own book. If he (and I'm sure he does) know the truth he can get more than GINO can pay, but I'm sure this is tied in with Sherry's court, take it or suffer...! Which is blackmail. Wouldn't it be funny if the FEDs are quietly watching this whole thing and get GINO for Blackmail!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIf the Johnstons are in Sarah's book, wouldn't she need to get signed releases from them? I can't imagine why any of them would sign anything, especially if there was some sort of gag on it. No amount of money is worth that. Because you know Sarah will renege on whatever promises she made, in writing or not. She isn't picky about contracts or the law. And whatever promises she makes, she has no qualms about breaking. You'd think the Johnstons would know better than to get anywhere near her.
ReplyDeleteGryphen, don't rush it. The info is forthcoming and will be more effective if it's presented in it's entirety at the appropriate time.
ReplyDeleteFor the persons who may want to read "Into the Buzzsaw", you will learn more about Van Susteren and her part in the Flt.800 shoot down story.
I think Syrin as a source would be a little more credible if she was a little more clear on what she is actually saying. Unfortunately, it always comes out a bit garbled.
ReplyDeleteWhile I view the Johnson family as victims of the Palin's abuse a la SP's attacks on Wooten, I do not think it right---as much as I too would be tempted-- to take the money and run.
ReplyDeleteLevi --if he believes it to be true-- needs a DNA test to confirm IF he is Trigs dad and if so, needs to step up and claim his son as his own.
I know how desperately this family needs money--with Sherry's legal bill and Levi's need to enforce his paternal rights---but it should come from THEIR OWN BOOK, AND NOT FROM BEING 'BOUGHT OFF' BY PALIN.
For one thing, Palin will NEVER FORGIVE them for holding this threat over her head i.e. ALL they know about Trigg as well as other insider info on Palin.
For another, they need to NOT STOOP TO PALIN'S LEVEL OF MANIPULATION, INTRIGUE, FALSEHOOD ETC.
If Levi needs a bodyguard now, he will need one even more should he "make a deal with the devil" and take Palin's alleged offer.
Palin is not "done" with her enemies until they are destroyed, in one way or another.
IF trigg is Levi's son, and IF Levi makes a deal with Palin, then HE IS SELLING HIS CHILD !
Time for ALL the JOhnsons to stand up and do the right thing, not the financial rewarding thing.
Besides, the kid could still make a mint off his own book and he deserves to write one after Palin's calling his family trash. WHAT A HATEFUL THING TO SAY IN PUBLIC ABOUT HER GRANDCHILD'S FATHER AND GRANDMOTHER. Is Palin forgetting that HER DAUGHTER SLEPT WITH THIS "WHITE TRASH?"
P.S. This "deal" is not bribery in it's legal meaning and if you want to go that route, you could call the Johnson's making the deal "blackmail." There's enough crap here to go around without making stuff up.
I speculate if the delay of Johnson's trial for a week, is to give her a chance to reveal anyting she knows about anyone in the Palin family and their own possible use/abuse of drugs?
ReplyDeleteIf she is considering "changing her plea" ( from not guilty to guilty or uncontested) could it be because she is being offered a plea deal for revealing info on others ( Palin's or otherwise?)
Of course, if Levi is planning a book and is thinking of including info he and his family have on other's abuse of drugs, then Johnson using that in her plea deal takes a lot of wind out of that sale, HOWEVER, I WOULD STRONGLY ADVISE SHERRY TO DEAL WITH THE PROSECUTORS RATHER THAN WAIT FOR LEVI'S POSSIBLE "TELL ALL" BOOK.
I hope Oprah has the good sense NOT to promote Sarah Pain'in's book.
ReplyDeleteGryphen,
ReplyDeleteI do hope whatever it is come out soon...I'm so tired of seeing GINO sidestep a pile of sh!t and smell like roses, the ethics complaints, now today the clothes, I want that iceberg to hit!
I'm really sick of her, and I'm sure all the people of Alaska who have to be under her rein want her gone also..too!
Of topic but...who is your acting attorney general?
ReplyDeletewhere are those computers/computer files taken from the Johnston's home? who has them. what has happened to them? where are they?
ReplyDeleteI am so sick of Sarah Palin too. Truthfully I despise her and infuriates me that she can tell lie after lie and get away with it! She says the media is too hard on her and I say no they aren't! This is driving me nuts. I am SO sick of lies and corruption by people in the name of God! How does she live with herself!
ReplyDeleteto Anonymous at 1:46 PM--Rick Svobodny
ReplyDeleteI believe that Levi's first concern is his relationship with his son/s. It certainly seems as though he could legally secure custody/visitation rights without an agreement to secure Palin family secrets. But even with custody/visitation rights, the Palins could make his life absolutely miserable, interfere with visitation and attempt to turn his son/s against him.
ReplyDeleteSP's possible deception of AK and US citizens would make her unfit for public office. This is the bigger issue here. I hope that the Johnstons or someone else understands this and will come forward with the truth.
Do be careful, Gryphen. I would hate to be contributing to a Gryphen Defense Fund. Otherwise, I wait with bated breath.
ReplyDeleteto clarify my comment at 4:25:
ReplyDeleteI understand that anyone considering spilling the beans would be concerned that the Palins would be vindictive. The thing is...once the beans are spilled, there's good reason to believe all the crap would stop. The Palins wouldn't be in a position to even attempt revenge without the media holding their actions under a huge spotlight.
The truth is always the best way in the long run.
What?Her mom may be governor, but there is no nanny in the Palin house. Bristol gets up – usually twice during the night – to feed Tripp, who sleeps in a hand-me-down crib in her bedroom, and she says she has tapped out at least one school paper with her son crying in the background. She breastfed her baby for a month, pumping milk before class and rushing straight home to feed him. And she worked two part-time jobs to help pay for the diapers and formula her parents otherwise supply.
ReplyDeleteTo add/reply to Anon@6:11AM's comment (quote from the PEOPLE article):
ReplyDeleteYeah, and if anyone believes any of that, they're in the same unicorn-rainbow-Queen Sarah fantasy world most of Palin's fans inhabit (which describes the TS and C4P crowd to a T)...
If I were Bristol and I had to do all that, AND show a benign Madonna face in publicity pictures and interviews, I might be tempted to spit in my ex-beauty-pageant-contestant failed-VP-candidate mother's face.
Even surreptitiously buying a plane ticket the next time Levi flies to Seattle and the two of them going into hiding, despite being a little on the "outs" with each other, might seem like a happier alternative to being an automaton/puppet to her mother's beliefs and goals.
Gryphen,I really do hope that any information you have regarding Teflon Palin is independently substancial and verifiable. My concern is that for whatever reason, a conversation can be denied. What was said can be "exagerrated"-- "that's not what I meant", blah, blah, blah.
ReplyDeleteHopefully there is a chain of evidence that can directly and undeniably be linked back to Palin.
We have seen too many scenarios where Palin simply skipped away and self-righteously blamed everybody else. She is the perennial 'victim'.
Patiently and cautiously waiting for the information that you are gathering! Take good care, center yourself and B-R-E-A-T-H-E...
Gryphen just saw your update. I would think that Rex wouldn't let the Johnson's be bought off, and anyway Levi is like the goose with the golden egg, he can command a fortune for his story, much more than GINO with her "hockey mom" memoirs...!
ReplyDeleteOnce the story comes out she will be done, put a fork in her, thank god! I will be able to sleep again!