Posted on 09/26/2011 3:53:55 PM PDT by Al B.
Sarah Palin’s family attorney John Tiemessen has written a letter to Maya Mavjee, the publisher of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, that Palin may sue her, the company, and the book’s author Joe McGinniss “for knowingly publishing false statements” in his book released last week, “The Rogue,” ABC News has learned.
The book was widely panned by critics for using unnamed sources to criticize Palin and her family. Tiemessen cites an email they have access to in which McGinniss writes that attorneys from Crown Publishing told him “nothing I can cite other than my own reporting rises above the level of tawdry gossip. The proof is always just around the corner, but that is a corner nobody has been able to turn” and that McGinniss “ran out of time” to sufficiently source the book.
A source close to the Palins tells ABC News that the “Palins are fighting back and demanding answers from Random House.”
“Random House is at the top of the food chain and published a book based upon acknowledged unsubstantiated gossip,” the source said. “The revealing email is key as evidence of this defamatory approach to politics through proxies.”
Tiemessen writes in the letter that the email “clearly describes the fact that Mr. McGinniss researched and investigated many false and scurrilous allegations, and concluded that there was absolutely no evidence anywhere backing these allegations.”
Palin’s attorney writes that it is “malicious” for Crown to publish the book when it has proof McGinniss and Crown “were fully aware the statements in the book were false, intended to be false, and were intended to harm.”
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
I’m glad she is litigating. This was an obvious case of libel.
My only concern, is if this is an indication that Sarah may not be running for POTUS. Or does it signal just the opposite?
With McGinnis, your not dealing with a guy playing with a full deck. He has serious mental problems. The fact that he would peer into the bedroom of a little girl(Piper Palin) says that he has serious serious psychological problems. His hatred for the Palins will be HIS downfall. Maybe someone, realizing what was being done was totally wrong decided to have a heart and sent those emails to Breitbart
Great to hear from you again, redpoll.
I’ve never seen a clear-cut case of proveable “actual malice” as this appears to be. If this thing goes forward, it also may be a way to get at people like that reprehensible Jesse Griffen (the recipient of the McGinniss email) and his connections to Democrat funding. Dan Riehl did some stuff on this a while back which indicated there may be a connection between him (and the Alaska blogging community) and Democrat money.
This could be fascinating although I suspect Random House will pull the book and issue some half-baked “apology.” That will probably end it.
I guess old McGinnis should have rented lodging next to a random house in Wasilla rather than next to the Palins.
The Statute and notice identified in the letter: AS.09.30.070 (b)says:
(b) Except when the court finds that the parties have agreed otherwise and except as provided by AS 45.05.111 (d), prejudgment interest accrues from the day process is served on the defendant or the day the defendant received written notification that an injury has occurred and that a claim may be brought against the defendant for that injury, whichever is earlier. The written notification must be of a nature that would lead a prudent person to believe that a claim will be made against the person receiving the notification, for personal injury, death, or damage to property.
http://www.touchngo.com/lglcntr/akstats/Statutes/Title09/Chapter30/Section070.htm
I think that simply agreeing to have the book pulled from the shelves would tend to feed into the lunatic left conspiracy nuts that this book was kept from the American public. The author and publisher need to be publicly humiliated in a court room, under oath and made an example. This needs to go BIG in order to prove that all of these disgusting smears were false and politically motivated.
Why not? Her legal team appear to have things well in hand. I don't think she even has to show up in the courtroom.
If Palin decides to follow through with the defamation/libel lawsuit, it will stop in their tracks all the other lowlife who want to make up stuff about her and her family. She will basically inoculate herself against every other scumbag that wants to make some quick cash by spreading lies about her.
I disagree with other comments being made on this thread that it is almost impossible for Palin to win this lawsuit on account of her being a public figure. If the allegations in the book are fabrications and McGinniss cannot bring any witnesses forward to verify their authenticity, he is toast. Especially in context of that email he wrote to that anti-Palin blogger in January in which he seemed to be in panic mode because his manuscript was in legal review and he had apparently had nothing to back his claims up.
I would not be surprised if the Palin legal team has already reached out to some of the subjects in McGinniss' book. For example, whatever happened to that basketball player with whom Palin supposedly had a one-night stand with? Isn't anybody curious as to why he hasn't publicly confirmed or denied the allegation? My educated guess is that he may be willing to testify in court that not only did he not have the one-night stand but that he was never even approached by McGinniss to verify whether or not it was true. If so, this will be devastating testimony in the libel trial. Who puts out a "non-fiction" book without even attempting to verify the facts with the actual subjects?
Imagine the utter humiliation that McGinniss and Random House must be undergoing right now. I reckon they have been conspiring the past few years to launch this disgusting book at a time where it would devastate the Palin 2012 presidential campaign at a crucial juncture. Instead, Palin foiled their plans by never announcing her candidacy in the time frame that they had in mind.
Now the book is foundering and both author and publisher are revealed for the jackasses that they are. Now when Palin announces her campaign, not only will the allegations in this book be "old news" but they will be revealed to have been a pack of lies as well.
Ping!
Why would he provide a textbook perfect solution to the NYT Malice problem for public figures?
I think she perhaps want to drill down to the people who were actually behind this effort. Then it gets very interesting.
Sic ‘em Sara, sic ‘em. Bankrupt ‘em.
“For example, whatever happened to that basketball player with whom Palin supposedly had a one-night stand with?”
Of course it’s bullcrap,,,but when i first heard that charge about the NBA player one night stand charge,, I wondered if McGinnis was actually trying to prove that Sarah is NOT a racist? The left just doesn’t get it. The old games are totally over,,and we are onto them. They must be in a panic than none of the old tricks will work.
2012 will be epic.
If she did none of the salacious claims that even some nutty folks here think were cool....then she should sue
Like I posted somewhere else. It was one thing when the left was messing with a dirt poor Governor from Alaska. Now she can afford the best. The hunted becomes the hunter.
Just came across this:
From the sound of this, looks like all passes have been cancelled and all hands need to report, on the double!
Make ‘em pay, Sarah!
Sarah and Todd... McGinniss has written that book to disrupt your lives. Go after him and all the players with a vengeance. Make an example of them by wiping them all out to their last cent.
When you get a chance, could you sorta dumb down your concerns? :)
That was reported on Friday....im sure that RH is singing a different tune to themselves now that a threat of a lawsuit and all of their emails are open for discovery
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