The Republicans will today attempt to rally behind John McCain’s controversial choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate for November’s presidential election amid a stream of embarrassing disclosures about her past.

The first story to raise doubts about Palin was over a state probe into allegations that she abused her position as governor to try to sack her brother-in-law, a state trooper, after he divorced her sister. The same day the McCain campaign team put out a statement saying that Palin’s 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, was five months pregnant. The father was later named in media reports as Levi Johnston, 18. The campaign team said it had gone public to end rumours that Palin’s most recent child was in fact Bristol’s.

In a MySpace entry, which has now been blocked, Johnston describes himself a “fuckin’ redneck” and says he is in a relationship but “doesn’t want kids”. He has left Alaska to join Palin’s family at the Republican party conference in St Paul, Minnesota, where she is due to make a speech tonight.
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Journalists descended on Alaska on Saturday and uncovered further details. According to Time magazine, as mayor of the small town of St George, Palin tried to ban certain books from a local library and threatened to sack a librarian who opposed this.

Facebook chat messages. Recorded and intercepted by FBI national security dept, 2:06pm, 2 September 2008.

Greg McDonnell to Levi Johnston: Dude, your online! what’s happenin? You wernt at the mall saturday and your myspace aint workin. Where are you??
Levi Johnston to Greg McDonnell: hey greg, this is all REDACTED up! i’m in minnesota at that republican thing. i got kidknapped, bro! these fed guys came round the house friday and told my mom i had to go with them.
Greg: Huh?
Levi: yeah. they flew me in this private jet and pulled a gun on me!
Greg: Cool!
Levi: no dude it was REDACTED scary
Greg: Did they shoot you?
Levi: huh? no they like read this list of things that I had to do and what I can say. i’ve gotta marry bristol, man! she’s keeping the baby and i have to be its dad!
Greg: Oh boy that sucks.
Levi: yeah
Greg: She looks like a beaver!
Levi: great REDACTED, tho
Greg: Oh man, I bet!
Levi: yeah and when the feds came to my house they raided it and found all my porno. and they went thru my moms books and magazines and burned some of them, right there in the garden.
Greg: Why? Does your mom also have porno?
Levi: no dude! like, proper books n REDACTED.
Greg: Why would you burn books? Like, who does that?
Levi: uh, i dunno
Greg: What’s Bristol’s mom like? She’s everywhere in the news!
Levi: she’s a real REDACTED!  she shouts at me all the time. she called me a dog. she’s always cursin. and she told my mom that she had to get sterilized
Greg: Why?
Levi: this is so REDACTED up. i’m not even allowed to use a computer. i had to sneak out to find an internet cafe. i don’t even like bristol, man. i only REDACTED her once! i just wanna come home and play football.
Greg: Dude, I can’t stop thinking about her REDACTED. Are they, like, really big?
Levi: oh REDACTED, the feds are here! REDACTED!, dude helpm

Communication terminated by FBI national security dept, 2:11pm, 2 September 2008.

Tags: politics, sarah palin, bristol palin, fbi, levi johnston, book-banning/-burning, redacted