Sarah Palin Aide Says She Was Joking About Divorce

An aide to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin emailed The Huffington Post Saturday to say that Palin was joking when she mentioned the prospect of divorcing her husband Todd in a 2007 email.

"Governor Palin was clearly speaking tongue-in-cheek in the email," said Doug McMarlin, one of the few political operatives who Palin has retained, on and off, to work for her since she left the governor's office in 2009.

An email that surfaced Friday briefly sparked talk that Palin had been seriously considering a divorce, though that talk was rather quickly dismissed by reporters such as Slate's Dave Weigel. McMarlin emailed to make clear that Palin was simply making a joke.

"This email was during her fifth pregnancy and the Palin marriage remains one of the most solid in any environment. We thank the media for their, er, continuing attention to this particular issue," he said.