Well, in order for a public figure to sue for libel, the person has to prove “actual malice.”
Normally, that’s very difficult to do, but not in this case.
I’m an Alaskan, and the other book about Alaska written by McGinnis, “Going to Extremes,” was pure crap. The scenes that supposedly took place in the towns where I lived seemed to be based on fantasy and rumor. I can either believe his words or my own eyes.
My fervent hope is that Palin’s lawyers chew him up and turn him into bait. Not that a fish with any respect would bite on it.
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.