Monday, November 3, 2008

On The Record from Misty: Some Bristol School Questions Clarified

As those of you who have been following the blog for a time know, we had several posts from a woman who goes by "Misty," stating that she had personally seen Bristol in Anchorage in early 2008.

I invited Misty to contact me directly, so I could get an "on the record" statement from her. She did so. She has given me her real - full - name and her contact info. Numerous personal details are verified. I am confident she is who she states she is, and lives in Anchorage.

She has gone on the record with me concerning what she knows about Bristol Palin's whereabouts in early 2008, and her impressions of the entire situation. I think this statement answers numerous questions about Bristol's whereabouts and puts to rest some other gossip and rumors that have been present since the beginning of the situation.

Misty knows Levi Johnston and Track Palin through the fact that her son played "league" hockey with them. She's met and chatted with Gov. Palin several times. She knows of Bristol because she was part of a group of friends that included her son when she came to West High School, though she has never spoken to Bristol beyond saying "hello."

Bristol showed up at West High School in Anchorage after Christmas, 2007. Misty was told by her son that she was attending West, and staying with her Aunt Heather Bruce, because she did not want to go to Juneau with the rest of her family. Misty also stated that he had heard that at that point Bristol and Levi Johnston had more or less broken up. She also heard suggestions that the Palins were interested in "cooling the relationship" between Levi and Bristol and that was one reason for her coming to Anchorage, but this would have to be considered second-hand hearsay. [Comment from Audrey: This would explain the "change" from what had been stated to the Alaska Magazine in December - that the intention was that Bristol was going to remain in school in Wasilla. Perhaps, if her parents wanted to "cool the relationship" they thought it would be better that she would be living in Anchorage with her aunt instead of in Wasilla with ? Her grandparents, perhaps? This is certainly reasonable.]

Misty saw Bristol on several occasions between early January and spring break, mostly at sporting events but once in her home, when she came over with a group of young people for lunch. Around the end of February (but definitely before spring break - March 10-14, 2008) Misty became aware that Bristol was no longer in school. Her son told her it was because Bristol had taken 'distance learning classes' and had finished early.

She did not hear any more information on Bristol until her son told her in very late April or early May that Bristol was pregnant. She cannot date this precisely but is sure it was before her son - who was a senior - was finished with school. (Last year (spring 2008) the last day of school was May 22nd, but seniors finish early. Last year, seniors last day was May 12th.)

Misty states that she never heard anywhere that Bristol had mono. She was as surprised as everyone else when Gov. Palin announced her pregnancy in early March, but never connected it to Bristol, since she had never heard any speculation whatsoever that Bristol was pregnant. She never heard any suggestion prior to Trig Palin's birth that Sarah was "covering" for Bristol. She had never heard any rumors, gossip, or speculation that the pregnancy was fake until the questions hit the Internet after Gov. Palin's nomination on August 30th.

Misty has told me she is as mystified by some of the aspects of Gov. Palin's birth story as anyone but does believe that Bristol is pregnant now...and that the pregnancy commenced sometime in the late winter/early spring of 2008."

Comments from Audrey: Misty's statements allow us to put some of the rumors that have plagued this story from the beginning to rest.

1. It's been said that Bristol was out of school for "five months," "eight months," "all of her mother's pregnancy." That does NOT appear to be true. She appears to have attended high school in Wasilla until Christmas and then West High School in Anchorage for January and February.

2. No source for "Bristol has/had mono" has ever been documented. Although this rumor was repeated everywhere (including on my own website) from the beginning of these questions, Misty states that she never heard that. Her son told her that Bristol left school because she had "finished early" due to distance learning classes.

I am glad to be able to go on the record with some reliable information about this.

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

It does seem plausible that the Palins would pull their daughter out of school if they had some concern about her behavior, or her relationship with Levi. The ease with which they move their children from school to school, or keep them out of school for various reasons, makes me think that Bristol missing school was not an issue as it might be for other parents.

Misty seems to indirectly confirm that Bristol was not pregnant during early 2008 spring. Or she was not visibly so. I had posted before on your site suggesting that Trig could be the child of another woman and Sarah agreed to take him on, for whatever reason. Thus suddenly appearing pregnant, confusing details and stories about the pregnancy, and the bizarre dash to deliver in Alaska. And as adopting a child is a wonderful, loving act that anyone would be proud to talk about, I can't believe that if there were not some odd circumstances, some great need for secrecy, Sarah Palin would have been very open about the newest member of her family. After all, if she is anti-choice, what better way to promote adoption? I am still stuck on the hospital scene with Levi's sister calling Trig her baby brother. No matter what cute terms teens use, like Triggy Bear, why on earth would she call him that if he was not in fact her baby brother?? Her mother is nearly the same age as Sarah Palin which does put her in the same high risk group for delivering a baby with Down Syndrome.
Enjoying the speculation and your site, as always.
--Reader from Ohio

Anonymous said...

Thank you Audrey and also Misty. It shows how easy it is to dispel rumors by addressing the questions. Why haven't any others who know the family stated the facts?

gotyeast said...

Based on this entry, I'd say it's game over - no fraud, no story, no cover-up. Just a very bazaar pregnancy for SP.

Anonymous said...

Certainly there is still much to learn about this. It is good that Misty was able to come forward to you, Audrey. I hope the nurse does so too. One does need to bear in mind that falsified hospital documents are not protected; nor are observations about hospital "visitors" as opposed to patients. Mary G.

Anonymous said...

Audrey,
There is a blogger on the SF Chronicle...who alleges that, he knows a lawyer in Wasilla who he frequently visits, and has visited recently (since Palin came on the national scene) and he says this lawyer says "it was common knowlege in Wasilla that Bristol was pregnant" during that time (before Trig was born) and its only a matter of time before someone, wanting to "retire and move away" come up with a birth cert or other evidence. Just a FYI...I am not convinced that Misty is not covering for Palin.
~crystalwolf

Unknown said...

Audrey, thank you. You are doing a remarkable job, and it will likely never be thanked enough.

If 'Misty' is correct, then all of us who are horrified by Sarah Palin's account of her labor can stop assuming that she was protecting Bristol. She subsequently exposed Bristol to worldwide humiliation; so the "protect Bristol" hypothesis wasn't solid, anyway.

What's left at the top of the list of hypotheses is this: Sarah Palin is 100% bonkers. She actually DID experience the bizarre events she described: she actually did put her unborn baby in such jeopardy. And she fully expects adulation for her unnatural, disgusting behavior.

Then again . . . . there's the Johnston woman, and Mercedes Johnston's cute photos and inexplicable captions.

The election won't make it all moot. Even if the Democrats win, this woman will be striding through the political halls, gathering powers to try it again. And her character matters. Whatever the explanation for this mystery, Sarah Palin has demonstrated that her character is deranged.

No matter who wins tomorrow, I plan to keep checking your blog. I've been enjoying your careful analyses; even learned a few new medical things. Thank you for your dedication. Grammy, mother of seven

Anonymous said...

I just found your blog and have read a zillion past posts, but forgive me if I missed this question. What about Trip (or whatever the oldest son's name is)? What if they took in their son's child to rid him of some undesirable girl? THat would be like finding a needle in a haystack, I can imagine, in Alaska. But that happens often enough. My ex-mother in law always told her four sons: "If you get a girl pregnant don't let her get you, just bring that child home to me."

Lost_in_Idaho said...

ABC is still reporting on the fact that SP has not released her medical records:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/03/palin-campaign-stonewalls-on-medical-records/

Don't be deterred by the surprisingly mean-spirited comments from the ADN. Of course this is an important story, simply because of the way the Republican Party and SP have used her "family values" credentials to influence voters.

Anonymous said...

Whoa there! Wasn't there a photo of Bristol in Juneau playing basketball? And wasn't she listed on an honor roll in a Juneau high school? So she went from Wasilla to Juneau to Anchorage to homeschooling in that school year?

Anonymous said...

I tried to email Audrey a few links relating to a comment made by a "Rani Roby" to the washington Post in September about how her kids knew "like, the day after" Bristol did that Bristol was pregnant--of course, there is no date mentioned and it is assumed this remark relates to the Republican convention announcement. Well, I haven't called the numbers I have found, but it seems that Rani and Dave/David are from Wasilla and that Dave works for the Alaskan Oil and Gas commission (I forget the exact name) and he's on the State of Alaska website.... He is some engineer. His house seems to be For sale.... I also, through looking for Robys, found an entry for the Wasilla High School website listing Bristol Palin as an alum, dates 2004-2008--saying she graduated in 2008. Mary

Anonymous said...

Well, I guess we'll see when Bristol's next baby arrives. It still seems to me that Bristol could have been pregnant, given birth delivering Trig, then defiantly gotten pregnant again. (I've lived through an angry teenage daughter, and anyone who has can attest to that possibility.) As far as Misty as an eye witness, often we see what we expect to see-- whether it's an unpregnant teenager or a pregnant governor. Again, when my daughter's friends visited, I couldn't have told you whether they were pregnant or not. And often, a young girl unhappily pregnant can hide it completely right up til the last month. If Misty didn't keep records of when she saw Bristol, again, we're relying on very sketchy "facts" here. The bottom line is SP proudly stretches, bends, breaks truth, and that's a fact. There are no other facts in this case: no fact of Trig's birth date, who bore him or where.

Audrine said...

"Based on this entry, I'd say it's game over - no fraud, no story, no cover-up. Just a very bazaar pregnancy for SP."

I don't think that's necessarily true. Think about it. We're all supposed to believe that a 44 year old woman on her fifth pregnancy managed to hide it until thirty weeks, right? So why couldn't a 17 year old on her first pregnancy hide it equally as long?

This would in fact be very consistent with Bristol's being removed from school around March 1 and Sarah Palin announcing "her" pregnancy on March 6th. The ONLY thing that doesn't fit with Misty's information is that there were rumors that Bristol WAS pregnant in May.

There are several possibilities. It could be true, which would obviously preclude her being Trig's mom. But it could also be "old info," that is still being passed around among the kids. Don't forget, Misty's son is in Anchorage - sixty miles from Wasilla. No one's seen Bristol. Why? Well, (whisper whisper) Did you hear she's pregnant?

Anonymous said...

At the exact time a non-pregnant looking Sarah Palin announces her pregnancy, a non-pregnant looking Bristol drops out of school.

I still see shenanigans. Waiting on Bristol's new baby's birth...

IMO (adding "in my opinion" because some ignorant people do not believe in the 1st Amendment)

Anonymous said...

I agree with your last post Audrey. This is definitely not over. The truth will come out.

I'm inclined to believe that Bristol's pregnancy rumors were "belated."

For the record I have family members whose teenage daughter delivered a baby ONE DAY AFTER they found out she was pregnant. The baby was small (not quite 5 pounds)and 4- 5 weeks early.

From my experience, it is not difficult at all for young first- time mothers to hide their pregnancies... middle-aged mothers delivering their 5th, not so much...

There is still plenty to be discovered about all this.

Truthseeker

Anonymous said...

misty does not answer why the principle of wasilla high had no clue where bristol went or why she was pulled from school...to get into anchorage her transcripts would have to be transferred...why did the palins decide on home schooling?

if misty only spoke to bristol by saying "hello" how in the hell does she know so much more?

I SCREAM BULLSHIT

BULLSHIT...BULLSHIT....BULLSHIT

i have stated before, there is an individual on youtube who provides almost the same account, yet says she was on the girls hockey team in wasilla

and will people stop with the "palin did this to protect bristol"

whatever she did or didnt do, it was to protect her political career

she has a habit of using her family members as she sees fit

she uses her children as props

go watch the recent van sustern interview, as she forces piper and willow to sit there while she babbles incessently about things she has no clue about...like the role of the vp and any domestic or foreign policy

misty proves nothing

release the med records

nuff said

Anonymous said...

Ok, just as I was sighing relief that some things were cleared up, it all seems to fit together too neatly. Audrey, unless I need to read closer, and I will again. Misty never says whether the times she actually saw Bristol, if she looked to be pregnant or not, and that this information is based on what her son said.
Too many things still don't pass the smell test. Are we sure if Misty has interacted on a personal level with Gov Palin that she is more of a friend than an acquaintance? And that she is not doing her a big favor? I am sure in my heart that the RNC is checking this blog as often as I am. When this is over I am going to need to check myself into a Palin 12 step program.
DMS

Anonymous said...

I agree with Audrey -- Misty's report resolves nothing. I'm sure that, with a few minutes of Googling, I could come up with countless stories of teenage women who make it through most, or even all, of a pregnancy without arousing the suspicion of anyone, including immediate families and close friends. Indeed, I'm sure we've all seen stories of young women who claim not have known they were pregnant until they gave birth.

The fact that Palin can't produce a even a summary statement attesting to her having given birth to five children suggests that she can't find a doctor willing to go on the record with a lie.

Anonymous said...

this may have been covered elsewhere on this site, but i didn't see it anywhere.

Mercedes Johnston's myspace captions make sense if Bristol and Levi are already married. he does have her name tattooed on his finger here one would place a wedding band.

in that case, Mercedes could easily consider Bristol her sister(in-law) and if the families are very close she might consider the other Palin kids -like Trig and Trak- brothers(in-law). and SP her mother-in-law. it would be weird to consider the family of your brother to be in-laws, as opposed to only the family of your own spouse, but not impossible.

OR what if Mercedes is married to Trak!? do we know ANYTHING about the oldest Palin offspring other than he's now in the armed services? then the Palins would all be her in-laws in the more traditional sense.

if there was a faked pregnancy (i lean toward believing so) and Bristol was NOT involved, perhaps Mercedes and Trak were.

just some thoughts.
luna1580

Anonymous said...

misty is wrong -- the palins did not move to juneau

the palins stayed in their wasilla home for most of 07 and 08

how do we know this -- remember the new revelation that palin charged alaskan taxpayers per diems and then lived in her own home....

the alaska state legislature ended in aug 07 and did not pick up until like feb 08 and then went back out of session 4/13/08

the palins were hardly in juneau during the pregnancy time

palin spent most of her time at her anchorage office

i've seen this misty posting on dailykos since this whole story came about -- i dont believe most of it

the other thing is: how could people that dont even know bristol "hear" that she's pregnant just barely 1-2 months after she would have gotten pregnant

bristol herself wouldn't have known until about may or even early june

also -- sarah palin was not breastfeeding as she claims, unless she was pumping, which would have been very difficult with her schedule

i have already sent you pics of her friends bottle feeding trig just 2-3 weeks after his birth

also, the deafening silence of dr. baldwin-johnson is very disturbing

also, the mat-su regional hospital never has even advertised that the GOVERNOR OF ALASKA had her baby there

misty isn't telling the full truth or she is remembering things wrong

Anonymous said...

So Levi and Bristol more or less broke up but by May Levi proudly displayed baby crocs hanging from the mirror in his car. Typical male teenager...I kid. ;p


Also, maybe Sarah didn't know Bristol was pregnant until late February or early March. Kinda like Sarah's staff didn''t know Sarah was pregnant until the day she announced it to the press.

TetonCowgirl said...

Whew! Thanks to you all for a rollicking roller coaster ride. I have followed this site and have seen it evolve. It started with an honest search for answers to troubling questions and evolved into a Rah/Rah Obama site with exhortations to privately record church services! That was quite a hoot! Anyway, see you at the polls tomorrow. I'm the one in the Nobama T-shirt...

Ms. Libertarian

Anonymous said...

I agree, Misty's info doesn't mean the story is over. Remember, Bristol was in that little fender bender back in Wasilla in February. Wasn't the accident near the Mat-Su medical center?

cat

Anonymous said...

While certainly interesting, Misty's information does not explain the non-inclusion of Trig Palin in Mat-Su Regional Medical Center's birth records.

Why would any hospital not make a big deal out of possibly the most newsworthy baby in its history being born there? Given that, the complete absence of any information regarding the birth raises all kinds of red flags, and still casts significant doubt on SP being Trigs's mother.

I actually think that Trig being the illegitimate son of Track and some undesirable girl is an avenue that should be followed up on. And, as already noted, Levi's sister calling Trig "her baby bother" is also curious.

Jay Raskin said...

And the plot thickens.
Let us see if we can make a Bristol pregnancy work with the new facts.

Okay, if Misty becomes aware of Bristol being out of school in late February, we may assume that Bristol left school in early February. It would take about two-three weeks before most students would be aware that someone had left instead of just being absent. This would be about 5 1/2 months pregnant, if we assume an original delivery date of May 18th.
The story that she graduated early by taking distance learning courses seems a bit odd. As I understand it, and from the one course I took, these courses are structured so they take the same amount of time as regular courses. You submit an assignment each week. Distance learning usually means you don't have to go to school, but it does not mean you graduate any earlier.
It makes sense that she would drop out of school in early February at 5 1/2 months pregnant, and that she would continue her school work by distance learning. If she was attending sporting events, hanging out with friends at her new school and attending classes in January, it is hard to see how she could graduate early with distance learning courses. That she graduated early could very well be something she would tell her friends to explain why she wouldn't be at the graudation ceremonies in early May.
I assume that in the middle of winter in Alaska, it would not be difficult for a girl to hide her pregnancy in the fourth and fifth month. I'm sure everybody is wearing heavy clothes pretty regularly.
The early May rumors of pregnancy
is the real problem. One solution is Audrey's that the old rumor about Bristol's first pregnancy just took a long time to circulate. Another solution is that Bristol and Levi hook up again about two weeks after the birth. Within a few day, she does a pregnancy test and finds out she is pregnant. Bristol does not want to give another "gift" to her parents. This time, instead of keeping the pregnancy a secret, she tells everybody she knows. Within a day or two Misty hears the rumor.

Of course, if Bristol does give birth on or around December 18th we will have to accept that Bristol was pregnant earlier and Trig is not her son.

According to this hypothesis, she should give birth around Feb 5th.

Anonymous said...

Jen's comment about the Palins being in Wasilla/Anchorage, not Juneau during the pregnancy time is a good point.

So, sending Bristol away obviously couldn't have been for the reason stated by Misty.

And Jen, your mention of "Misty" posting on DailyKos about this is very interesting. Can you copy-and-past here those posts (or email them to Audrey at info@palindeception.com) with date-stamp, etc?

For the record, when I was in my mid-20s and six and a half months' pregnant with my first, I could easily have hid it.

Later pregnancies pop out earlier and more.

So, I don't doubt that Bristol could have concealed her pregnancy into the 7th month...and far more easily than her mother could have hidden her own, as she claims to have done.

Gryphen said...

I will add to this debate only that I have a teacher friend who came to me a month ago while I was trying to get a handle on this story and told me matter of factly that her son's friend, who lives in Wasilla, said that "everybody knew that Bristol was pregnant" BEFORE Christmas.

I do not know who this "Misty" is, but NOTHING she has said puts to rest any of my doubts about Trig Palin being Sarah Palin's son.

Anonymous said...

I seem to remember talk about a meeting or conference of medical people that was to be held today or at least this week in Anchorage, and that Dr. Baldwin-Johnson was going to be there. Any news on this? or do I have it all wrong?

Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Lots to think about. I went over Audrey's blog about the school situation of the girls--honor role in Juneau for Willow, etc.--then I looked at the Misty information and a comment about Palin's per diems and how she greedily charged Alaskans for her living expenses as she stayed in Wasilla during much of the legislative session... I think much of this information reflects the fact that Palin uproots her children frequently, so that doing one term in Juneau and getting on the honor role doesn't mean they weren't living much of the school year in Wasilla (although maybe Alaskans will find that she, in a sense, double-billed them--she was sneaking away to the governor's mansion and billing them for per diems....). I really don't see how those children can be learning much more than being show-offs and stage-children for their egomaniac of a mother. I did see a post today on some "class-mate" class reunion site for Wasilla High School and Bristol Palin is listed as being there 2004-2008. Aren't highschool diplomas public? Can't we find out if she got her H.S. diploma from Wasilla? Also there is a short list of friends of Bristol--the weird thing is, they all graduated 12-28 years before her??!! Mary G.

Audrine said...

From Anna. For some reason she cannot post:

I still am unable to post to your blog, although I did manage to get a post in on Cajun Boy's website, which is the same google account. I just tried for the umpteenth time.

My comments, if you care to post them for me, re today's post about Misty, are that in addition to the several discrepancies and doubts noticed by other posters, my gut reaction has always been that the photos are strong evidence:

That Sarah does not look pregnant,
The Bristol obviously loves that baby
The photo of Bristol with her friend Mercedes in the hospital, with Bristol bending over alongside the chair where Mercedes sits and holds the newborn, shows a tired but deeply joyful Bristol. Also Mercedes expresses in words ("Family love") and in her face a love for Bristol and the baby which would not be there for her friend's mother.

As to the speculation about Willow, the photos do not indicate that she is the mother, even taking into account that at such a young age she might not have correct maternal behavior. She shows little tension around Trig and little interest in Trig.

Someone had said that picture of Bristol did not look like she could have just given birth, but I disagree. Remember, she is a slim 17-year-old, and whatever belly she had left was hidden by her bending forward. That picture could have been me. I weighed 135 pounds when I got pregnant with my 3rd child, and weighed 127 pounds the day after she was born.

The other thing is, if Sarah were the mother, she would have released the records and/or other evidence.

Thanks,
Anna

Anonymous said...

CNN has Palin's medical records. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is about the do the analysis.

Anonymous said...

CNN has just read an excerpt from Palin's medical records.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is about to give analysis.

Anonymous said...

Access Hollywood asked Sarah about Bristol:

“Did you have to console her? Was she in tears or did it make you cry?” Billy asked the mother of five.

“It didn’t make either one of us cry. Bristol is a very strong young woman and she’s going to be just fine and a wonderful mom. She’s kind of an old soul, beyond her time. She’s ready to take this on as a young mother and start her own family,” Palin continued. “Bristol and I and the rest of the family know this is a team effort. And to be thrust like that into a spotlight on a national scene, was perhaps an unfair shot to be taken. But really, if we don’t have think enough skin at this time, as candidates, and I consider our whole family – this is a candidacy for all of us, we shouldn’t even be running for office. But we know it’s all going to be worth it in the end.”

Anonymous said...

Greta van Foxnews says Palin released a medical summary saying she's healthy.

Audrine said...

It's 11:03 Eastern time. I'm watching CNN also on their website. I don't see anything about medical records. I'll keep watching.

Karla said...

This is it:

Palin’s medical history released
Posted: 10:55 PM ET

(CNN) — Just hours before Election Day, the McCain campaign released a summary of Gov. Sarah Palin’s health — a physician’s letter saying the vice presidential candidate is in “excellent health.”

Palin was the last contender on the presidential tickets to release her medical history in some form.

The November 3 letter from her physician, Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, says, “Governor Palin is in excellent health and has no known health problems that would interfere with her ability to carry out the duties and obligation of Vice President of the United States of America.”

http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/

Gryphen said...

She released a released a note from her doctor.

Guess WHICH doctor.

Yep CBJ.

Anonymous said...

I don't believe that Misty has given us any solid evidence that Bristol was NOT pregnant Jan/Feb, and that it is still very plausible that Trig is her baby.

I agree that there are lots of loose ends that still need to be tied up, and SP is not making anything "clear and transparent".

Anonymous said...

It's great to hear some info on the rumours that appear not to have been. I was wondering and have been quietly all along that maybe, just maybe Sarah is the mam of Trig, and maybe she lied about knowing early on she was preggers, and that maybe she didn't actually realise until she was 7 months along that she was preggers as she "didn't show much" - just go with me on this one for the minute. No one has ever noted that Sarah a 44year old(?) MAY have been going though the menopause and didn't think anything of it until she started to get a bit fatter, so she went to the doctors and shock horror her feeling ill and bloating was a shock baby....(it does happen).

Dipsydoodlenoodle