Greta: My Husband Is Not A <em>Paid</em> Palin Adviser, But He Gives Her Advice

Fox News' Greta Van Susteren responded on her blog to the story that her husband, Washington lawyer John Coale, is an adviser to Sarah Palin.

Van Susteren wrote on GretaWire:

I am getting lots of inquires about my husband John Coale -- no, he is not a paid adviser to Governor Palin and never has been. And no, he does not want a job with her or with the other women he has helped.

Yes, he has given Governor Palin advice and helped her. He met her through me when I interviewed her....I did not meet her through him. I have gotten interviews with her not through him but through our staff on OTR. It is that simple.

The inquiries came following a Washington Post story that listed Coale among the "protecters of the Palin brand" — without ever suggesting, however, that Coale was a paid adviser. Rather, Chris Cilizza wrote:

Coale, in an interview with the Fix, described himself simply as a "friend" of the Alaska governor but acknowledged that he suggested she start a leadership PAC and helped her navigate through some of the questions surrounding her family that lingered after the campaign. Others familiar with Palin's political team insist that Coale has far more power than he is letting on -- essentially helping to run Sarah PAC. Coale demurred on that front, noting only that he talks to Palin regularly and that she is a "fascinating person" who is "definitely not what the right thinks or the left thinks."

Van Susteren has enjoyed unparalleled access to Palin and her family, conducting several interviews from Alaska — most recently with new mom Bristol Palin. But, as she writes on her blog, she insists her access to the Governor and her family does not come through her husband's relationship but rather through her own staff, and that her husband met Palin through her.