Anchorage TV Station: Sarah Palin Was "Definitely Pregnant" With Trig

I spoke to Cherie Shirey, Assignment Manager for TV station KTVA in Anchorage and she made the following statement...

"These internet rumors are very bizarre. We worked with Governer Palin many times in 2008. Our reporters worked her on location and in the studio and I worked with her myself. She was definitely pregnant. You could see it in her belly and her face. The whole idea that Sarah Palin wasn't pregnant with Trig is completely, absolutely absurd. "

It's a KTVA reporter in this picture with Governor Palin. Shirey confirmed the photo was taken in April, 2008.

Update: The picture was taken in 2008. This is confirmed.

However, a commentator points out that according to this link from Flickr, the picture WASN'T taken in 2008 but in fact seems to have been taken in March, 2005.

Here's why the March, 2005 is wrong - that camera wasn't announced until the end of July 2005. So now the conspiracy involves TIME TRAVEL, as well!

The time problem is why I called in the first place. The photo is from when Palin was Governor, end of the 2008 session, multiple witnesses, video tape...all the things sane people need to come to reasonable conclusions.

The incorrect 2005 date is easily explained - they didn't set the date correctly. I've done that. Look at these Piroshkis that Flickr says I took digital photos of in 1972, when I was seven years old! Those things are delish, by the way.

Follow Lee Stranahan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Stranahan

Comments

[loper2008]

this has turned pretty funny ... what started it was the weird fact that sarah palin flew to alaska from texas after her water had broke. that doesn't make any sense.

at least this led to the outing of Bristol Palin's pregnancy. This family is reminding me of the Spears family.

[bison1]

No the McCain Campaign lead to the outing of Bristol. The campaign used Palin’s children as props in her compelling story but now that it's uncomfortably, questions about her children are suddenly off-limits. The rumor was never about Bristol's pregnancy, it was about Palin faking a pregnancy to cover up for a past pregnancy of her daughter. She threw her daughter under the bus to deflect attention from her.

[1will]

Many Liberals are STILL saying the baby was not Sarah Palin's.
Well I guess if you're bored with WTC conspiracies then maybe this is a nice change of pace. Then again the foil hat may be too tight.
It's pretty amusing when even the National Enquirer is a more accurate news source than the DailyKos.

[anuevomi]

My mother pretneded to be pregnant with three of here children and everyone knew it but did not say anything...This will blow over in a few days... Bristol is 5 months pregnant... which gives cover to the story that Palins child is her grandchild.... so just sit back and watch as the world turns...i suspect there will be a miscarriage in the works somewhere down the line....

[JimmyTee]

And then what happened on Melrose Place?

[anuevomi]

I don't know there were not any black people there so I decided not to watch...

[kravitz]

This is the very same picture whose link I followed to Flickr and found... http://www.flickr.com/photos/30076181@N02/2814979078/meta/in/photostream
Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9000
Orientation: Horizontal (normal)
X-Resolution: 72 dpi
Y-Resolution: 72 dpi
Software: Digital Camera FinePix S9000 Ver1.02
Date and Time: 2005:03:19 23:29:14
Date and Time (Original): 2005:03:19 23:29:14
Date and Time (Digitized): 2005:03:19 23:29:14
This is the camera. Who owns it? Who took the shots? Why would you spend $700 and not set it up when it's the first thing it asks? And it keeps time with the battery low. So, not good, Lee. Case not proven. Still.

[Candyx]

as a digital slr owner Lee she is right the date and time is current unless you never set it up and professionals don't do that when taking pictures of elected officials. It's their job Lee. Come on people there is something just so wrong about this. why was the pic loaded on 8.31.08 and not before?

so, are they saying this was a point and shoot camera and not a digtal SLR? Come on this is a professional interview being conducted in the photo above. TV stations don't use point and shoot cameras.

[Lee Stranahan - Huffpost Blogger]

So - you are saying the March 2005 date is correct, right?

Even though the camera wasn't announced until July, 2005? Right?

If the date is right, the picture was taken months before the camera was available. And the woman I cited at KTVA was lying. And all the reporters were lying. And why did they interview Palin in March 2005?

Answer the date one first.

[Candyx]

Hmmm Lee, photo removed from flicker

[jylnc]

I have always believed that family should remain out of the hateful rhetoric during campaigns. There are spiteful, personal attacks against moderates and conservatives on Huffington Post and other progressive or liberal sites. I am also disappointed in the disrespectful behavior on conservative sites.

I read the rumor on Daily Kos, about Sarah's baby being her daughter's, complete with pictures and innuendo and I knew that some of Barack's supporters had reached a new low. I wonder if his supporters listen to his speeches and take the words to heart? Do they learn from him and pattern their conduct from his example or is it all lip service? How can they hope to influence swing voters when they are so spiteful and intolerant?

I am sad that Barack's inspired speeches and life's story doesn't translate into respect and tolerance among some of his supporters. I was encouraged to see your post that checked out the rumor, sorry that Bristol had to bare her soul at 17 to the intolerant masses, and encouraged to hear Barack give a statement clearly expressing that families are off limits.

I am just one moderate Illinois voter and my vote will not affect Barack's success in November. But there are countless other swing voters who might read Huffington Post. They may be from a state where their vote will matter. How are Barack Obama supporters representing his core beliefs to those silent visitors?

[jio2]

This describes me perfectly. I honestly still think I will vote for Obama, but every time I come here and see some of these awful comments I have second thoughts.

[loper2008]

please, i find it hard to believe annoying supporters can sway you so much. have you ever listened to limbaugh? he is the most hateful of all.

[eridees]

Don't you think you are a little too old to be influenced by the behavior of others?

[jkpcguru]

Well actually I think i can say that.. Ever since Obama came onto the national scene I have cleaned up my language when I talk about people of other races. I wouldn't call myself racist but I have caught myself saying questionable thinks. This gives me an idea for an off the bus story

[Zenomi]

Many people who come here are still able to think, question and speak for themselves and are entitled to their opinions. If you or anyone else is interested in one side of a story you know where to go. It is just today that the NY Times is bringing all of this front and center: "On Monday morning, Ms. Palin and her husband, Todd, issued a statement saying that their 17-year-old unmarried daughter, Bristol, was five months pregnant and that she intended to marry the father."

The key being "a statement was issued". The news stations have been very quiet about all of it, but aren't you happy if not thrilled that we don't live in the days where our information and news solely comes from newspapers and television stations? By Barack Obama making the statement he made, he assured that his name would be "positively" brought up each time someone didn't like what was being said about this issue. Just look how many times Obama's name comes up in defense of this issue. The Republicans have not issued such a statement to back off?

[Skippy3000]

Liberals really came off looking bad with this ridicuclous fake pregnancy story.

[ali-remixamerica]

So does that mean that Ellen Page was really pregnant in the movie Juno? I saw pictures and she sure looked pregnant.

[ayiticherie]

Lee,

Please call the reporter back and ask her how a person so obviously pregnant here would be able to hide this HUGE stomach from a TEAM of airline staff. A staff that was quoted as saying that NOONE knew she was pregnant or IN LABOR on her EIGHT hour flight to have "her baby" in the middle of nowhere. PLEASE EXPLAIN. Thank you kindly.

[lisakaz2]

Indeed. I want to hear from that staff. I also want to hear how it is that this woman's "water broke" and she took so much time getting home to Alaska from Texas. Supposedly, a fifth child would not take that long to deliver and what does it say that supposedly pregnant woman essentially in labor didn't go immediately to a hospital and a hospital that had an ICU unit. That's what I've heard. Is any of this true? I'd like to see someone actually examine this story thoroughly (and seriously). If it's true, it's insane. If it isn't true, then we can guess what was so important to appear to rush back to Alaska.

[Jennifer]

Maybe she doesn't have health insurance that covers outside the Country of Alyska.

;)

[AustinCynic]

It also doesn't explain why a woman smart enough to get herself elected governor wasn't bright enough to take herself to anyone of a number of world class hospitals available in Dallas. I'm no fan of Rick Perry, but he's a decent enough human being to grease the wheels and see that a fellow governor, a colleague, got nothing but the best treatment while in his state.

And Lee, spare me argument you repeatedly tried to sell in your last blog entry about this flight being Palin's call to make and it being OK because nothing bad happened. I'll join the other commenters inviting you to make some phone calls. Why don't you call some OB's and some general practitioners? If you find even one who wouldn't jump on Gov. Palin with both feet for doing something so stupid and risky as board a flight with ruptured membranes, I will show you a doctor who will probably have their license revoked someday.

[wadda]

While the truth might not be as juicy as I would just relish...god, how I love a good scandal, this does not diminish the understanding that withholding information and education leads to ignorance and poor decisions.

I don't care where you start; be it abstinence only education, or some whacked geo-politiacal view based on entitled arrogance.

McCainmade a poor decision; Palin's not competent. Most who makes excuses hinting at the possibility that she is capable, and at least not detrimental to sustainable life on this planet, is just not functioning on all cylinders.

I don't want to hear about being a POW; too bad, so sad. At some point it has to stop being an excuse for every mental, or moral lapse. Seriously, it is unfortunate. I think veterans returning from war should get without hindrance all the treatment they can get for the physical and mental trauma of war. Being elected President should not be considered treatment..

I don't want to hear about mooseburger. Yes, I bet it's yummy. Bulwinkle Stew: a family favorite. That's her life. More power to her. But don't tell me that creationism is science; that red is green; that I must subscribe to unsubstantiated beliefs that are marginal, at best, or moral code that is rarely attainable­...apparen­tly even by you.

We understand what happens when shallow, incurious people are given too much power and control. It's not pretty. People die. Please go back to Alaska and leave us alone.

[anon004]

"We understand what happens when shallow, incurious people are given too much power and control. It's not pretty. People die. Please go back to Alaska and leave us alone."

Wow. That about sums up the last eight years and the next four if we vote for the Republican ticket, All in one sentence. Thank you.

[cowboyjerkface]

Leave this alone. its a non issue!

[silvercreeklady]

you people are sick


Barack Obama on Palin: "Back off these kinds of stories."

"I have said before and I will repeat again: People's families are off limits," Obama said. "And people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know my mother had me when she was 18 and how a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn’t be a topic of our politics."

On charges that his campaign has stoked the story via liberal blogs:

"I am offended by that statement. There is no evidence at all that any of this involved us," he said. "Our people were not involved in any way in this, and they will not be. And if I thought there was somebody in my campaign who was involved in something like that, they would be fired."

[lisakaz2]

If she lied, it's an issue. Obama is in a bad position to be leading the media. It doesn't mean the truth shouldn't be thoroughly examined.

[Refocus]

Obama has my vote, but he can't tell me what I do or don't need to know.

[PennP]

By overreacting to this story and our responses to it, Obama has hung a big red "D" for "DISGRACED" on Palin's chest--not his intention, I'm sure, but it's the way he's coming across. Palin made her family the topic of discussion, and she can't use her children as props on the campaign trail and then tell us to back off when evidence emerges that her parenting skills and abstinence message aren't cutting it at home. The same thing would apply to Obama, and he knows it--families are not now and never have been "off limits." Family members are vetted along with the candidates and they're used as "family values" exhibits. Obama can speak for himself and his campaign, but he can't suppress our speech.

People who keep seeing this as a "private family matter" need to step back and get a better perspective. If Sarah Palin faked a pregnancy as a cover for her daughter--and nothing anyone's said or posted to date disproves the possibility, including the photo on this blog--then she's guilty of pulling a very public, obnoxious, and shameful fraud on the people of Alaska--and now, us. Her personal house is in disarray, and she's the target of a formal investigation of the kind of unethical behavior she's previously exhibited at the mayoral level. This is germane to her moral fitness for office, and her ability to take the vice presidency role unburdened by domestic distractions. It's sad, but it matters.

[legoh]

The rumour that the child isn't hers doesn't make sense to me. If her pregnancy was fake why make up the story about leaking amniotic fluid and flying, etc.

I also saw some of the pictures on Dailykos showing a supposedly pregnant Bristol (wearing fitted green sweater). If SP planned to claim the baby's was hers why not have her wear less fitted clothing to hide her baby bulge?

[lisakaz2]

The baby was a month early. If her pregnancy was fake, the Palins went into panic rush mode because the daughter went into premature labor. So, Palin had to find a way to hurry back to Alaska to appear to give birth there. Ask yourself: if she did rush badk there, why was it so important to give birth there and not where she was? Are there no good hospitals in Texas? The timeline seems very fishy to me. I want to hear it confirmed if flight ppl did not see Palin was either pregnant or in distress. If she really did fly all the way back to Alaska while poised to give birth, she's a bit daft, don't you think?

[klmebane]

if she flew all the way back to alaska after her water broke that would explain why the baby has down syndrome.

[cgull]

All this talk of Sarah and babies. Get a life folks! So far in one day you and media have ruined the life of one 17 year old for your own gains. Where is human decency?

You wimp and whine about conservative and liberal and religoius right, but when push comes to shove, you're just a bunch of vampires ready for the kill.

[Henry]

Can you recall a 7 year investigation over White Water by Ken Starr at $465 per hour that brought no charge and when you think about it, did not even present any "allegation" of wrong doing on the part of the Clintons? Remember that?
She is a christian dominionist. The reason our forefathers left Eurpoe, christian dominionists! And you.... think we wimp and whine.

[PitBull6]

Ah, the old (circa 3rd grade) argument, "they started it!"

[bwilder]

Actually, I think it was her mother that has 'ruined' Bristol's life- at least for the moment.
Is she so naive as to think this would not have been an issue and that media would not
have noticed a pregnant teenager on stage in front of national cameras?

Palin has put her ambitions ahead of her daughter and family and that, to me
is disgusting. To be 17, unwed, pregnant, and have a mother so insensitive
as to what it would do to you, must be horribly painful.

[elizaW]

People on this blog are destroying the Democratic Party. You are like vampires trying to suck the blood out of any story, hoping it'll make you feel better for a moment. Look to the scandals in your own party. Is Teddy Kennedy a bad Senator, a bad father, a bad husband, a bad uncle because his family history is strewn with sex scandals, including one that included the death of a young woman? Going by the standards you are using to evaluate Palin, Teddy should have been ousted from the political arena forty years ago.

[obamagirl1968]

If Gov Palin tried to pass off her teenage daughter's out-of-wedlock child as her own, THAT is an integrity problem. The fact that the child is a special needs child and is still an infant while she stumps around the country is a judgment problem.

Gov Palin chose to make the baby an issue when she touted not aborting a fetus with brith defects a pro-life issue.

[huffblow]

Have not liberal women "touted the fact" they had an abortion? YES. So what?

[Safire]

I don't care. There are much bigger issues that need to be aired.

This is an old story.

[Deidroni]

This is no old story, Safire. She was picked as the VP nominee three days ago. She admitted Bristol's pregnacy only when the blogosphere detected suspicious behavior on her behalf.

[Safire]

You are correct. However, we will get a lot more mileage from the other issues that have come to light.

Those issues carry more weight than the baby thing. Unless we can prove that she lied, it becomes a moot point.

The other stuff is way more damaging in my opinion. I DO NOT want that woman in the White House.

Peace :-)

[neve]

BTW, SP would never wear such ugly shoes.