Couching It In Certain Terms

6/27/2011

Silver, a kind reader and great commenter, sent me these two photos she'd discovered on a site called "Parenting Freedom."

If I understand correctly, the photos are no longer there, but Silver made screen-grabs, which I give you now:

Silver then wrote this: The data on them shows that the winter one (in the Mat-su hospital setting?) was taken 2/17/2009 at 6:49 AM and the one with Piper was taken on the same date at 6:51 AM. Both pictures were taken with a Canon Powershot G9. It would be very early in the day if they were there for a doctor's appointment.

I am a real luddite where these things are concerned, and could not make the right click work for me. So, Silver provided this site on exif data which might help others as well. (H/T and round of applause to Silver!)

And, just so we have the photos handy, here is Levi again, on that red couch:

UPDATE: And here's an article that Silver also found, showing Bristol in September '08. Click on the photo to enlarge.

The previous thread with Brad Scharlott on Private vs. Public is still open. But in the meantime, what jumps out at you here?

Rebecca

6/27/2011 11:49:49 am

Brad Scharlott

6/27/2011 11:56:48 am

WOW! Trig on Feb. 17, 2008. Unbelievable. This will shake the Palin world. Way to go, Laura!

Byaka

6/27/2011 11:57:05 am

Second photo: Looks like the same blanket as the Levi photos.

First Photo: maybe the same hat? Hard to say. (classy camo blanket...)

I don't see how the 2 photos could be taken 2 minutes apart, though. Baby and Piper would have to do a quick change and the background in the second photo appears to be a different setting and looks more like a house than the hospital.

silver

6/27/2011 12:04:00 pm

Thanks to Laura for posting these pictures and opening the discussion here. The Parenting Freedom link has two other pictures, one of Tripp and one of Tripp and Trig which can be downloaded if anyone wishes to check the data on them.

After downloading I right-clicked to Properties and then Summary to see the data which showed the camera used, the date and time. I am not very familiar with picture data but as I understand it, if the date is programmed wrongly into the camera the data on the pictures will not be accurate so that is a possibility. And yes, the pictures would have to be taken very quickly, one after the other, if the data is considered to be a point worth discussing. Perhaps a computer expert would be able to answer.

Bob

6/27/2011 12:04:13 pm

Feb 17 2008? or 2009?

6/27/2011 12:06:58 pm

Not Trig on Feb 17, 2008 -- Tripp on Feb 17, 2009. Still a bombshell, though: a newborn Tripp, not a 2.5-month old Tripp, on Feb. 17.
But I also don't get the chronology: in the first photo everyone is decked out in winter coats, either ready to leave or having just arrived. Presumably the former. So how did Piper end up in a short-sleeve shirt two minutes later? Also, since when are babies and mothers discharged from the hospital < 7a? If the time stamps are wonky, then who knows what to believe.

Brad Scharlott

6/27/2011 12:11:39 pm

OOPS - 2009, not 2008 - upload date maybe

Viola

6/27/2011 12:13:04 pm

Silver, in what context were these photos posted on "Parenting Freedom?"

silver

6/27/2011 12:14:23 pm

2/17/2009 is the date shown but I have no idea if it's correct.

The remaining two baby pictures on the Parenting Freedom link show the one of baby Tripp was taken at 6:50 AM

The two babies, Tripp and Trig at 6:54 AM

I see no exif data for the two pictures of Levi that are shown here.

Does anyone know if the data could maybe be the time the pictures were downloaded from the camera to a computer and not when they were actually taken?

Parkway

6/27/2011 12:14:49 pm

Piper and Willow look younger in those pics than they did during '08 campaign. Pics must be from several months before Sept.

6/27/2011 12:14:49 pm

My photo timestamps are never correct. I let my batteries die then have to reset. However. The date when I put the batteries back in is always in the past, never in the future. So that this photo of newborn Tripp in FEB 09!!! explains why the Palins get so upset about questions re Tripp's arrival.

Btw. Tripp has two parents who could release a birth certificate and one is not a Palin.

Brad Scharlott

6/27/2011 12:15:39 pm

What if Tripp was induced early, and this is the date of release?

OffTopic

6/27/2011 12:33:46 pm

btw... The more I look at photos of the Palin girls, I can clearly see their resemblance to Todd. But Track looks completely different!

Bob

6/27/2011 12:38:57 pm

Is it possible that Piper is wearing this shirt underneath the pink sweatshirt---and the brown chairs in the background of the second picture are just on the other side of the waiting room? Is there anyone who knows this room at the hospital who reads this post and who could shed some light?

6/27/2011 12:49:02 pm

Levi with baby is Trig. Levi did not get younger and blonder after the campaign. Palins with baby is Tripp. Todd has brought Willow and Piper to visit their new nephew a year later than the Levi photo. The hospital issues/orders the same blankets in pink or blue. IMO.
Most important - when was the Greta interview (the first time Tripp was seen publicly after his "December" birth)?

6/27/2011 12:54:10 pm

On the Bristol photo link - I think the family shot was found to be taken at the Christmas photo shoot day in September of 2007. There are more that were published in some obscure magazine, but the whole shoot ended up online - extensive discussion at Palins Deceptions about Bristol's body shape, particularly one on the stairwell of the Gov. mansion.
http://palindeception.blogspot.com/2009/05/ho-ho-ho.html

6/27/2011 12:54:34 pm

Of course, if the photo timestamps were simply messed up, one might ask, why were the photos yanked from the site?

PS. Piper looks like Todd? Are we looking at the same photographs?

Other jk

6/27/2011 12:57:04 pm

im the jk who posts on malia's and joe's blogs, Palingates, and politicalgates. But it looks like both jks here are on the same team.

I'd say piper took off her coat and hat to hold that baby.

Just look how tiny his head is, even in Piper's arms. That is not a 2.5 month old.

silver

6/27/2011 12:58:25 pm

Viola, I found the pictures several days ago and cannot remember the order, just that I was a bit surprised to see the two that are posted here now were missing last evening when I checked again but perhaps because I had a direct jpg link to them on Politicalgates and it's a hot link which is inconsiderate to the site owner? The site owner would have been able to post the pictures in any order she wished to.

JR, I believe the Greta interview was aired on February 17, 2009 and I will have to view it again to see if these were pictures shown during the interview. Perhaps that's why they have the same dates?

silver

6/27/2011 01:10:57 pm

Here is the link to the first part of the interview with Greta and there are lots of pictures shown.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/3924087/challenges-of-a-young-mom

saladgirl

6/27/2011 01:12:37 pm

The Greta interview is on the 18th of February and Tripp does not look like a newborn. He look pretty hefty and is holding his head pretty well. There is a big bottle of formula on the table (not the little ones they give you in the hospital. I think time stamp is when they were uploaded.

alexis

6/27/2011 01:15:15 pm

More pics brings more questions!!

However the 2nd pic of piper is in the family home..

Scroll down to 2nd picture on link;

http://jezebel.com/5447191/sarah--bristol-palin-push-pro+life-message-in-new-in-touch

alexis

6/27/2011 01:19:57 pm

Should have wrote that the couch Piper is sitting on is similar to the one in the link I poster above

silver

6/27/2011 01:38:20 pm

The pictures are all shown in the Greta interview (plus more). Bristol seems very believable in that interview, not like she was on the GMA interview this morning. Though she is slightly hesitant when it comes to discussing Levi she doesn't speak unkindly of him and there is no mention of a breakup a few days after Tripp's birth like she relates in her book.

This still doesn't explain the new Levi photos as the ones shown in the interview look like he's more mature and he's wearing the gold ring on his thumb.

Alexis, I agree, the couch does look the same as the one in the Palin house.

Conscious at last!

6/27/2011 01:47:00 pm

Piper looks very young here. I am not sure that this is from 2009. Can we compare this photo(second one where she is holding the baby) to a photo of her with a confirmed date? How about a few still shots from the Israeli photographer's video of SP in 4/08? The baby looks like the child known as Tripp.

Bobcat Logic

6/27/2011 01:48:16 pm

OK, what jumps out at me is the ghostly white thing near the window, which I would say was the remnants of a cellophane wrapping for a bouquet of flowers.

It is there in both in one of the Piper pics and one of the Levi pics.

rubbernecking

6/27/2011 01:53:14 pm

The Parenting Freedom blog post is about Bristol's interview on Feb 16, 2009. The first image is flashed in this video
http://video.foxnews.com/v/3924086/ at 4:08. Transcript here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,494205,00.html

I'm assuming the author of the Parenting Freedom blog created the image files from freeze-frames in the video.

I agree the 2nd photo appears to be taken in the Palin home. Another photo of a similar couch is here: http://xfinitytv.comcast.net/blogs/files/2010/12/gosselin.jpg

Ron

6/27/2011 01:58:12 pm

Bobcat, I'm not seeing a ghostly white thing in the Piper pics. There is some paper (probably the back of another photo) stuck to the first Levi pic (those photos were hard copies), but that is ON the photo, not in the photo. Where do you see florist cellophane?

SLQ

6/27/2011 02:03:09 pm

rubbernecking: Ah, they do look like screen grabs (a bit fuzzy and freeze-frame-like). The dates make sense, in that case.

Cracklin' Charlie

6/27/2011 02:13:01 pm

I don't think that could be Piper in 2009. She looks very young. Does anyone have a picture of the baby presented in the Greta interview? A size comparison with the baby pictured here might be helpful.

I would also like to make an observation regarding the new picture of Levi in the green shirt. I would like to contrast this photo to the one previously seen that show Levi holding a small baby while sitting in a kitchen chair.

The photo of the man in the green shirt looks like a young man who has maybe just become a father for the first time. Backwards cap, bleached hair, tan, looking like a party boy. The kitchen photo shows someone more mature, with hair cut short, cap on straight, work clothes, more like someone more ready to be responsible. Just an observation.

cuzIsaidso

6/27/2011 02:22:50 pm

Immoral Minority's Gryphen recently published a photo from Frank Bailey's book where S.P. is texting while Piper holds Trig at a basketball game. Piper has a similar hat but different coat in that pic(I recognized it as the same coat my daughter wore that year). So, perhaps coat seen above is from winter 2008, not winter 2009.

emrysa

6/27/2011 02:25:31 pm

with all due respect this is a false lead. these pictures are screenshots of what was on tv (or internet video). the person who authored the blog saved the screenshots as jpegs, and that's why they've all got this date (note that the post at the link above is the same date as the exif data on all the pics - 2/17/09).

you can try yourself and see that if you save a screenshot as a jpeg it will have the date of the day that you made the image. take a screenshot, then save it in photoshop as a jpeg. close the file, then re-open it. look at the "file info." it will have today's date (or whatever date that you made the image).

Suelu

6/27/2011 02:27:46 pm

I agree that Piper looks younger in this photo than she did during the campaign. I also think Levi, in the green t-shirt looks much younger than he did in the campaign. I suspect Bristol is a Mommy times 2, Tripp being her second child. Not a great reflection on a "SuperMom's resume.

Thanks for all working so tirelessly on this. I think the truth matters. And especially in matters of journalism and public service.

"The truth is cruel, but it can be loved and it makes free those who have loved it." George Santayana

emrysa

6/27/2011 02:29:23 pm

also too also too: I wasn't implying that silver intentionally sent a bad lead. I am guessing that silver just didn't know.

jeff

6/27/2011 02:47:37 pm

Laura,

It appears that the date of the pics is actually the date of posting to the page, according to the url for the page. Apparently, the 2 images were shot in 2 different locations.

But... the blue baby blanket and the lovely orange couch seem to date this to same date of the new photo of Levi with Trig at Mat-Su Hosp. Hmmm, where's Bristol? Oh yeah, this must be from the baby she had in winter 2007/2008. Where's Sarah? She must be taking the picture or she's out of the picture with Brisket telling her that it's okay, and now she can have her virginity back.

Sadie, we need more contemporaneous photos of your brother to help date these photos, and you don't even have to comment on any of them. We'll figure out what we need to. What did Levi's hair look like on April 18, 2008?

Re the Tacoma photos: To be honest, what jumped out at me was from the brief article accompanying the photos in which Sherry Johnston replies "Absolutely not." when she is asked if pressure to marry Brisket is being applied to her son, Levi. Just seems odd to be the only quote.

Of course, Brisket has her ever-present baby bump, which results from having her virginity stolen time and time again, even after birthing the baby in the "new photo" (with her Dad and sisters).

cuzIsaidso

6/27/2011 02:52:34 pm

Piper definitely wore that hat to Iditarod 2008. So, the newborn at the hospital could be ...

silver

6/27/2011 02:59:29 pm

Thank you, emrysa. No, I did not know if the dates were the same as when the photos were taken so that's why I said in my first comment that I was not familiar with picture data and perhaps a computer expert would be able to help and that is why I've continued to question it during the discussion to see if anyone knows.

I tried checking the Properties/Summary with the Levi pictures here to see if the same camera was used but it didn't show any info like the two pictures I found so I assumed all the camera data removed from them.

silver

6/27/2011 03:30:36 pm

Emrysa, I saved a screenshot from the Greta interview as you said and checked the date so I understand that part. What I don't understand, how did the blog author post the photos with the camera info, Canon Powershot G9, on them as it doesn't show on the JPEG photo I saved from the video. Can anyone explain?

6/27/2011 06:27:06 pm

Unfortunately a lot of these pictures don't seem to have firm dates attached to them, although they certainly add to the mountain of circumsntial evidence. (How long are you going to ignore the mountain, MSM?)

But you've provided a link to one picture which seems to have a firmer date associated with it - the Palin family getting off a plane in September 2008. We can see Bristol's baby bump - and to me it looks a lot smaller than it did at the RNC.

6/27/2011 07:04:51 pm

Silver, at least one photo on that blog appears to be a photograph taken of the television which would account for camera info appearing on the screenshot.

Look at the photo of Bristol clutching Tripp. It is distorted, and the Fox logo in the bottom left corner is askew. To me this looks like someone standing to the left of the tv took a photo of the television screen.

6/27/2011 07:07:59 pm

The baby held by striped-shirt Piper looks to me like Tripp. Look at his nose in this photo versus the closeup of infant Tripp on the parenting freedom site. It is not Trig's flat nose.

K.M.R

6/27/2011 08:28:22 pm

I'm not sure this will help, or further muddy the waters.

There's a comment at Palin's Deceptions dated Dec. 9, 2008. I've always found it curious.
It has many innuendos ... many of the same ones that have been tossed around for nearly 3 years on several blogs.

The person who posted it said it was found @ VF.

The link that was posted with it is no longer available (my, what a shock!).

I assume it was found also in the comment section @ VF.

The possible relevant sentence is, "I heard the key was a large payment to a nurse at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, who was very worried about her safety."

http://www.palindeception.com/blog/2008/12/lowest-common-denominator.html
Scroll to read the entire comment.

BlueberryT

6/27/2011 08:58:04 pm

Not to worry if all the leads don't pan out; it is very important to explore them and figure them out. I recently asked the same question about Piper's age in the photo holding Tripp, and the PoliticalGates research team came up with quite a few photos of her from 2008. In the ones before the campaign, she has longer hair; she must have had her hair cut at the beginning of the campaign, and subsequently. So, the shorter hair in the picture with Tripp looks consistent with her hairstyle in late 2008 and early 2009.

comeonpeople

6/27/2011 09:55:07 pm

Haven't read the comments yet, but the baby Piper is holding looks like Tripp to me. Absolutely.

Viola

6/27/2011 10:54:06 pm

Thanks, Silver for responding re: context. I had clicked on Laura's link to the parenting site and not realized that the article was where you'd found the photo.

@Jeff. That quote from Sherry Johnston jumped out at me too. That is the only word we had from her in Sept 2008, and it was widely circulated everywhere. It came from an interview with her, and there was a photo as well, standing in from of her house.

It was after that that the drug bust came. I always wondered if Sherry's brief and solo appearance in the media (and the photo of her, smiling and dressed up for the camera) was dangerous to the Palins, and Sherry was zapped for it.

Viola (Alex)

6/28/2011 12:17:18 am

@K.M.R. Very interesting to reread that post from Audrey and the comments 3 years later. The V.F. comment is very chilling considering that Dar Miller died a month later in Jan 09.

Also interesting to read my own comments (Alex) and Brad S, is that you, commenting in Dec 9, 08 thread?

http://www.palindeception.com/blog/2008/12/lowest-common-denominator.html

Jeanette 123

6/28/2011 12:23:25 am

My understanding is that this room is in the maternity section of the hospital and is more a patient room than a delivery room. IM has a picture of that room with some other folks faces blacked out.

It looks as though they are getting ready to go home in the first picture. They all have coats on and the baby is wrapped in a heavy blanket.

Is that Bristol or Willow or one of her cousins. It doesn't look like Bristol to me.

The pictures of Levi can't have been taken in 09 so if the dating is correct which it may not be. Can the dating be manipulated? If the dating is correct, I am beginning to think that this is the blanket that the hospital provides to newborns.

I think the picture of Piper is taken at the Palin home. Interesting that the right ear is covered
up. Ruffles?

Is Piper the same age in these two pictures?

Jeanette 123

6/28/2011 12:46:28 am

Is it just a coincidence that if you go to the FOX site to look at the Greta interview, it cuts off before the Trip pictures are flashed? The bottom says it is 5 something minutes long, but I watched it twice and it just cut off at maybe about three minutes.

Jeanette

6/28/2011 01:01:18 am

Looks like I should read all the posts before posting since the dating issues have been answered and it is Willow.

The cutting off of the tape is the second half when Sarah barges in with Tripp. I will never forget that look on Bristol's face when she comes in. Evidently Sherri was supposed to be bringing in Tripp but Sarah couldn't have that and I don't think she was ever shown.

silver

6/28/2011 01:02:20 am

After shutting down last evening I realized that the Canon Powershot G9 camera was most likely the one the site author used to take screenshots from Greta's interview, that she didn't do it with her computer. Sorry for wasting anyone's time or leading them on a false lead, it wasn't intentional. It explains why pictures in different locations were taken in such close time frames.

Even though Piper looks very young in the picture, the baby does look like Tripp and statements given from Levi on later dates, like when the baby learned to roll over, seem to confirm that he was born when they claim. Levi does look so much different in the green shirt picture from the ones shown of him with a tiny baby so I don't know how they fit into the time frame.

silver

6/28/2011 01:13:23 am

I meant that Levi looks so much different in the green shirt pictures than he does in the ones with a newborn baby Tripp, like the one where he is wearing the hospital ID bracelet.

Laura Novak link

6/28/2011 01:17:18 am

Silver, thank you again for doing this work. I think it was a good use of time to examine these and think about them. How could a website writer take pics of other pics already taken? That doesn't make sense. I would guess these photos were taken from somewhere else? And if this baby was born after Trig...how come they all look younger!!! Thank you again for getting the conversation started.

alexis

6/28/2011 01:21:26 am

@Viola & @K.M.R.

I've decided to post the "VF" comment you were discussing here, so more people could read it and its easier to find

---------------------------------------------------
Anonymous said...

Does anyone know whatever happened to this promised bombshell? I suppose it was just hearsay?

( from http://www.politicalbase.com/profile/Sue%20Deaunym/ ):

This is cut and pasted from VF. I'm new and don't know how to add to the "waterbreak" blog...

Report abuse
There are all kinds of suspicious facts and photos, but 'true believer' Republemmings will not believe a word of it till Sarah actually confesses on TV. That is why there is an organization with very deep pockets working on this story in Alaska, and will break the real story in mid-October (too late to get another VP). I heard the key was a large payment to a nurse at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, who was very worried about her safety. They are going to nail Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson for insurance fraud and some other stuff (medical ethics, faking documents... I got this over the phone, I'm not up on medical crimes). Turns out the Down's Syndrome was just a Red Herring, part of the cover-up that makes a 44 year old mother plausible. It's really Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Bristol got wasted a few times in July and August before she knew she was pregnant. That's why they couldn't quietly give the baby up for adoption, and why Sarah got a late start on faking the pregnancy. I heard they are going after the Doctor that gave the fake 'mono' diagnosis as well. So many crimes, so little time. Bristol's current 'about 5 months pregnant' is just afterbirth weight, and she is breastfeeding. Such a sick kid (Trig) really needs his mother's milk, no way would they force her to bottle feed only after all they put her through. Yeah, there is a 'miscarriage' coming. After the Presidential Election. And no, Sarah did not have a 'pillow' under her blouse for those famous TV interview photos. She splurged the $500 : http://media.tumblr.com/8tqDWct6WdhxfvmckqBXVoSi_400.jpg"> If Sarah wins VP, most likely. If not, he keeps the Hummer and goes his redneck way.

Posted 9/9/2008 by JessicaMG

silver

6/28/2011 01:35:11 am

Laura, as I explained above, I now believe the site author used her own camera to take screenshots from the television of the baby pictures shown on Greta's interview. In a photo editing program the pictures can be easily cropped or straightened - then the data will show her camera and on the date and time she took them from the screenshot, not that of the original picture. Even then, if she has the wrong date or time programmed into the menu of her camera it may not be accurate as to the time she took them from the television.

For those interested in checking data on other pictures or their own, I found an excellent site that is very helpful. http://imgops.com/

6/28/2011 01:56:39 am

http://www.politicususa.com/en/babygate-fox-news

Babygate: Fox News Reports that Bristol Palin had a Son in Sept 2008
April 30, 2010
By Sarah Jones

Sarah Palin and her daughter Bristol both testified at the email hacking trial of David Kernall, which found him guilty of 2 out of 4 charges. The trial lasted just two days.

In reporting the verdict this evening, Fox wrote:

“Bristol Palin said she was distressed to find pictures of her newborn son in the public eye after her mother’s e-mail was hacked. Defense attorneys argued Kernall, the son of a Democratic state lawmaker, was just committing a college prank.”

Bristol’s baby Trip wasn’t born until late December of 2008, and the email hacking occurred during the campaign in September of 2008, just months after Trig was born.

Thus bringing to light the very odd rumors long lingering around Sarah Palin even before she was tapped as VP candidate. Rumors that she was not pregnant prior to announcing the birth of her fifth son, Trig.

Conscious at last!

6/28/2011 02:04:03 am

I do not have a "unified" theory of Babygate:Trig and Tripp, but I do have some thoughts about the period surrounding Tripp's supposed birthdate - 12/27/08:

Camp Palin was in a tizzy because they had to produce a new born baby by the end of December 2008 in order to support their lies. Remember, of course, the main lie was that SP birthed Trig in 4/08. They insisted that he couldn't have been BP's baby because BP was "5 mos. pregnant" at the GOP convention in September '08 with another child.

BUT, Camp Palin had a problem, because they didn't have a newborn ready for show and tell at the appointed date.
OH DEAR!!

Is it because "Tripp" was actually born well before 12/27/08??? If this was the case, he'd look way too old to be cast as a new born. BUT, if they waited a few months, and covered him up, then maybe he could pass for a two month old when has was actually much older.

AHA!- a possibility to consider. This would certainly explain why he looked so HUGE at the Matt Lauer interview in May'08. They concealed his age by drugging him so that his gross and fine motor skills would not be exposed.

Remember also the cluster of strange events at this time(Late'08-Early'09):

The wierd birth announcement by the aunt in Washington state, Sherry Johnston's set up and arrest, the two fires- one fatal and the NO SHOW baby -- strange indeed for the media whore who would have had a perfect photo op with him!

I am willing to entertain many ideas.
It could be that SP's fake pregnancy actually had little to do with any of BP's pregnancies. It could have been 100% about getting the VP nomination-- after all, she did announce her pregnancy the day after McCain got the nomination. One can NEVER mention that fact enough. It could be that all of the babies were borrowed. We need not be attached to any one story line.

The only firm fact for me is, once again, SP did not give birth to any child on 4/18/08. PERIOD.

alexis

6/28/2011 02:12:40 am

@RF

These are the only 2 pics made public from the email:

http://gawker.com/5051193/sarah-palins-personal-emails

Are they trig??

6/28/2011 02:26:38 am

@alexis,

Those pictures don't look like Trig or Trip. The baby is in a blue sweater, but looks kind of feminine to me.

6/28/2011 02:35:41 am

Thanks for the VF post. Very, very interesting! But I understand that there are posters spreading disinformation and that everything should be taken with a grain of salt.

Some questions on the mono alibi. Why would Bristol be sent away from home to recover? (Although I guess if her mother actually was pregnant, that would be a pretty decent reason.) But can mono cause such a long absence? Did anyone else have mono?

6/28/2011 02:43:49 am

Well, that baby doesn't look like it has down syndrome to me...

they were definitely in SP's yahoo email box,

and "Bristol Palin said she was distressed to find pictures of her newborn son in the public eye after her mother’s e-mail was hacked"...

Kind of nails it for me, Bristol acknowledging pictures of her newborn were in her mothers email account.

There's been a puzzle bandied about on IM... Trig was Tripp before he was Trig.

Seems like the photos in that email account and Bristols distress over them becoming public solves that lil mystery.

At least for me.

RF

curiouser

6/28/2011 02:50:14 am

Starting from fall 2006, the first photo I've found of Piper with short hair that I can date is June 17 2008 (adn #34).
http://www.adn.com/2008/08/29/v-gallery/509850/sarah-palin-biography.html

Here are photos of Piper at the March 8 2008 Fairbanks Fur and Ice event. Her hair was long.
http://www.palindeception.com/calendar/days/030808.html

The photo of Piper in the striped shirt is definitely with Tripp. It's reasonable that a receiving blanket used for Trig would be saved and passed down to Tripp.

alexis

6/28/2011 03:22:19 am

@RF

Do you think the baby in the blue shirt is the same baby in the photo next to it of the palin childern, with bristol holding the baby?

I've try to enlarge that photo to compare it with the one showing the baby in the blue sweater. But i'm not having much luck :( When you click the photo it shows an email instead of enlarging the photo.....

http://gawker.com/5051193/sarah-palins-personal-emails

curiouser

6/28/2011 03:32:02 am

Here are the links to the photos from parentingfreedom:

Piper, Willow, Todd and baby
http://parentingfreedom.com/images/palin305-thumb.jpg

Piper and baby in blue blanket
http://parentingfreedom.com/images/palin302-thumb.jpg

I couldn't find the related blog post.

Ron

6/28/2011 03:38:16 am

Laura, is it possible for a journalist to obtain records from the e-mail "hacker" case? Are they public? Can we confirm Bristol's statements?

K.M.R

6/28/2011 03:42:18 am

@ curiouser,
As an aside, I couldn't help but notice how serious Willow looked in photo # 26.
Everyone else is so excited on this election night, Nov. 7, 2006.

@alexis,
Thank you for posting the entire VF article. Lots there.

@ Viola a.k.a. Alex,
I've been spending at least an hour a day rereading at PD. Certain comments take on a whole new meaning with the passing of time.
I also wondered if Brad was commenting over there? I'm thinking he did.

@ everyone,
Keep plugging. I really do feel a shift in the air. Our time isn't wasted.

alexis

6/28/2011 03:47:57 am

@Ron

You can find most of the records here;

http://cryptome.org/kernell-palin.htm

K.M.R

6/28/2011 03:50:02 am

Are people aware that there were 3 three suspicious fires early in 2009?
I find it strange.
Sorry I didn't save the link.

Posted: Friday, January 09, 2009
By STEVE QUINN
State and local fire officials are concerned about the number of fire fatalities just one week into the new year while cautioning building and home owners to use care while heating buildings with much of the state immersed in extreme cold.

Alaska State Troopers said so far three deaths have been reported, the highest recorded for a first week in 13 years.

All three of this week's fatalities remain under investigation. Two were in separate fires in Wasilla and the other in Anchorage.

A 54-year-old Wasilla woman, Darlene Miller, was severely injured in a Monday night fire. She was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle because it specializes in treating burns, but died on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Duane Triplett, a former president of Anchorage television station KIMO, died from injuries sustained in a home fire. Triplett's wife Colleen, their son, another family member were injured in the blaze.

Later Wednesday, two good Samaritans rescued a 12-year-old boy from a residential trailer fire, but they could not save another child. No names have been released.

<snip>

6/28/2011 03:50:09 am

Is it possible to definitively identify the baby in the Greta/Bristol interview as Tripp? (If Tripp was born in Jan or Feb of 2009, it is possible they used a substitute) Maybe someone with better skills than I can check out the baby's ear and see if it matches Tripp's as an older boy?

Lidia17

6/28/2011 03:57:04 am

Alexis, that is great that you are tracking down the trial records. I remember over at Palingates that there was to be a long wait for their release, and then people moved on. But I do recall that that statement of Bristol's was one of the things people wanted to confirm.

Truth Please

6/28/2011 04:01:40 am

The ones of the Palins are from when Tripp was born and were featured in the first Candies video "pause before you play"

I don't know if I'd trust dates on cameras anymore, as that has proved problematic in the past. But that is definitely Tripp Willow and Piper are holding.

Chrissy

6/28/2011 04:06:57 am

The print on the blanket looks standard hospital issue to me.

Chrissy

6/28/2011 04:14:26 am

I think those dates could be upload date from camera, or wrong date in camera. I haven't set my camera to the correct date so I think nothing of them.

I feel like Truth please is on to something. Those pics WERE in that psa. No doubt given by the Palins. Plus, that first baby does look like Tripp and the second one does look like Trig. I think Trig was born to someone Apr 18. I think he lost weight (which is normal). We've never had a good picture to show his real length before May 3 so we can't judge that but the faces are TOO freaking similar not to be the same. Plus, so many people saw Trig grow up around that time. There are reasons Frank doesn't think anything of this story. I remain skeptical that two Trigs were used until a Dr or someone associated with the Trig story goes on the record.

Bobcat Logic

6/28/2011 04:38:32 am

Have looked a bit more carefully at the pictures of Piper and Levi -- both apparently taken in the same Mat-Su suite (pictures I and 3 above).

At first I thought the strange shape in the Piper picture (beside her head) was another version of the cellophane bouquet wrapping that can be seen on the sill in picture 3 with Levi, but more warmly colored (pinkish) and at a different angle. But...

On closer inspection, the shape seems that it could also be Piper's right hand holding up two fingers? Maybe meaning 2nd baby?

And they do all look younger in these pics than one might have expected.

Ron

6/28/2011 04:46:04 am

I think Piper's just making bunny ears over (next to) Willow's head. Just being funny.

K.M.R

6/28/2011 04:51:43 am

Those are her two fingers.
My thought she was holding them up behind her sister's head, like horns, as kids do.
But on second thought Bobcat, she may actually be holding up two fingers to indicate there are now two babies.

lilly lilly

6/28/2011 04:56:01 am

It is Piper holding up two fingers, but doubt she is into the hoax. She could be holding up the finger v for victory. or holding up fingers bunny ears as Ron says.

alexis

6/28/2011 04:57:31 am

Definately "bunny ears" or "peace sign"

Kids do it all the time in pics..

I don't think she would be indicating "two" behind willows head

6/28/2011 05:01:34 am

Alexis:

I can't tell with any certainty if it's the same baby. But Bristols own words were that she was distressed over pictures, PLURAL, of her newborn that were in the public eye.

There were TWO pictures in that email account.

Liars, faced with big stakes, often leak the truth without meaning to. The higher the stakes the more they tell on themselves through facial expressions, body language and the words they hadn't meant to say under the circumstances.

I think Bristol told us all what the truth really is. Her baby's pictures were made available to the public eye when her mothers yahoo account was hacked.

curiouser

6/28/2011 05:06:25 am

The most interesting thing I see in these photos is that the baby held by Levi (Baby1) is larger than the baby Piper is holding (Baby2). But the birth weights tell a different story.

Baby1 - Trig - reported birth weight 6lb 2oz

Baby2 - Tripp - reported birth weight 7lb 7oz

viola aka alex

6/28/2011 05:17:05 am

I love the energy on this blog. Thanks, Laura, for providing a forum that allows for it. Thanks alexis, silver, k.m.r (I know AK has lots of fires, but that article you posted is still scary.) for your contributions and to all the rest of you.

Laura Novak link

6/28/2011 05:23:11 am

Thanks, Viola. And the energy is thanks to all of you. And again, a big round of applause for Silver. Without leads, a story never moves forward. This is the life of a reporter: you dig, you find, you fumble, stumble, strike it big. It's all in the process and I'm glad you found these photos, Silver, and allowed everyone to investigate with you/us.

6/28/2011 05:25:52 am

Alexis:

The new question is just exactly how old is the baby pictured in SP's emails?

If those photos on the yahoo account had been there for some time, Bristol could then have become pregnant again, or just faked another pregnancy.

Like her mother, she ballooned in record time. On August 22, 2008 she was very slender, yet on Sept 3, 2008 at RNC she had huge breasts and a bulgy belly. What might we make of that?

mmud

6/28/2011 05:30:21 am

Yes, thanks for posting the photos. I do remember the top family photo; maybe the Piper with baby photo too.

I think it is Tripp and I can't recall which blog or when (likely Palingates/Politicalgates) but I think it was verified earlier that these were Tripp birth event photos.

It would be quite helpful to get the fire reports and, even more importantly imo, the transcript of Bristol's testimony at the KY trial. Wouldn't that solve who birthed Trig?!?!?!

ginny

6/28/2011 06:11:25 am

I have not read any comments, but wanted to say (assuming you really meant 2/17/2009 and NOT 2/17/2008), this would be Tripp, not Trig, if that date is correct. But Piper looks younger here than she did in fall of 08 and later.

curiouser

6/28/2011 06:18:42 am

mmud - Palingates had the transcript from Bristol's testimony in the Kernell trial. It was a bit of a let-down that it showed Bristol referred to the baby in the photo as her 'brother'. The links to the transcript are gone but the body of the post does mention the 'brother':

"Well, it's her "brother", and she was at the hospital on April 18, 2008, when Trig was officially born! How could she not know how old Trig was?"

http://palingates.blogspot.com/2010/09/bristol-palins-testimony-in-david.html

alexis

6/28/2011 06:35:49 am

@mmud

Here is an article from fox where they quote bristols testimony

" she was distressed to find pictures of her NEW BORN son in the public eye after her mothers email was hacker"

Palin was hacked in sept, 2008

http://www.box.net/shared/43uvvsr4ko

curiouser

6/28/2011 07:27:24 am

alexis and mmud - The Fox story was sooo intriguing but I don't see that it helps us since the office court transcript of the trial quotes her as saying 'brother'. I'm sorry I wasn't more specific in my earlier comment that Palingates got a copy of the official court document. Perhaps Patrick or Regina can chime in since the links to the document no longer works.

Mhurka

6/28/2011 07:49:07 am

Is it possible that Greta was given these photos and told these were Tripp photos when these were actually Trig? One has to always remember with whom we are dealing with here.

DebinOH

6/28/2011 07:55:18 am

Well, one thing I am glad to see is that Piper looks happy. Lately she does not appear so.

Not much I can add but I don't recall seeing these pictures before and I've been in on this story since day one.

I appreciate this blog so much. It is nice to come here and see thoughtful comments not just random insults about the Palins (not that I don't enjoy the snark once-in-a-while). It kind of reminds me of Audrey's site before she had to go. I guess I like the detective aspect of this story;)

lilly lily

6/28/2011 08:05:32 am

Both the Globe and the National Enquirer have zeroed in on Sarah and Bristol.

The Globe says Bristol rumor as being pregnant and causing waves for Sarah, have been discussed in the E-mails.

They are keeping it in the public eye.

The NE is discussing Bristol's continued drinking and shacking up when partying and drunk.

Apparently the leopard hasn't changed her spots, and remains something of a party animal in spite of having her "Virginity? Stolen" oh so many times.

Aren't they afraid of being sued by the pure as the driven snow, Miss Palin? She has a book to flog.

Their lawyers must know what they are doing.

Are they in essense calling her memoirs a lie?

Mhurka

6/28/2011 08:09:03 am

Also, is it possible that the court testimony was "corrected" from son to brother? Because of the high stakes involved I don't trust any of the players in this farce.

TexasGal2009 link

6/28/2011 08:11:54 am

KMR - Here 's the link to the Juneau Empire article -

" Early 2009 Fire Fatalities Concern Investigators - State and local fire officials are concerned about the number of fire fatalities just one week into the new year while cautioning building and home owners to use care while heating buildings with much of the state immersed in extreme cold.
All three of this week's fatalities remain under investigation. Two were in separate fires in Wasilla and the other in Anchorage.Alaska State Troopers said so far three deaths have been reported, the highest recorded for a first week in 13 years...." One of these deaths was , as we know, Dar Miller, the second was Duane Triplett, former president of Anchorage TV station KIMO. In the third fire and unnamed child died in Wasilla. http://juneauempire.com/stories/010909/sta_375555715.shtml

silver

6/28/2011 08:17:27 am

Thanks again to Laura and others for taking the time to consider these pictures even though the data I found was not correct to the time the originals were actually taken. If nothing else, I understand that aspect better than I did previous to this so it's been a learning experience for me. :)

Sarah claims she's shown a birth certificate for Trig but no one seems to have seen it. With so many rumors flying around about her daughter from the very beginning Sarah could have released family photos from certain events to show that Bristol was not pregnant during the months in question, perhaps putting the whole matter to rest long ago, but she hasn't done that either.

Rationalist

6/28/2011 08:19:12 am

DebinOH: I agree with you on both counts. I enjoy the thoughtful comments here (though am also fond of snark, in measured doses). And I was explaining to a friend recently that the reason this story is so compelling is that it truly has everything, so I can't look away. It starts and ends with outrage and a strong sense of civic duty, but I can't deny the detective story and soap opera aspect of it.

Laura Novak link

6/28/2011 08:39:21 am

Deb and Rat (I may call you Rat for short, mightn't I?) All kidding aside, thank you for those kindest of compliments. I find being held up to Audrey's standards an honor indeed. She was an expert sleuth and story teller and her writing was so good. So I do consider that the highest of compliments.

And I also, too, laugh at the wonderful comments and humor on IM and other venues. No doubt about that!

Silver, you did a great job. I agree, this is a great mystery without a body (though there really are a few bodies in this book, aren't there!)

What would Poirot say indeed!

Thank you all. It's my pleasure to be in your company.

Rationalist (aka Rat)

6/28/2011 09:37:56 am

You may totally call me that.

Since we're invoking famous detectives, may I add Joe Friday? In the middle of all the Palin smoke and mirrors are "just the facts, ma'am," and whatever we come up with in our investigation must hold up in court (the court of the MSM). That's why it's heartening to have you on the case, Laura. A lot of ideas get thrown around on these blogs, which is good! But your background makes you aware of how airtight the case must be.

That's why it was so frustrating to listen to Tony of T&T get slammed on that radio show, and rightly so, as he did not have his facts straight.

All the photo evidence in the world doesn't seem to move the press, but hard facts like airplane tail numbers got the "Chartered Jet Tour" - I mean bus tour - out of Palingates and onto the evening news.

I wish Joe Friday or Detective Sipowicz would get hold of some of those AIP/Gun store guys and find out what they know about the mysterious fires in Wasilla....

ginny

6/28/2011 09:54:20 am

Guys, I had an actual authentic nightmare last night starring Sarah Palin as the Wicked Witch of the West, green skin and all!!! Aaagggghhhh!!! LOL! I'm thinking I need break from all this! But even when I start to feel sure that there's no way she could ever become president, the mystery of it keeps me coming back!
I don't know what to make of the pics. I think these are Trig. It seems like Piper would not be quite as bundled up if it were really April, would she? Do we know what the weather was like on April 18 2008? I know it Alaska and all, but she still seems very bundled up for April.
Thanks as always to Laura, Brad, and all the other dedicated and diligent Palin investigators!

lilly lily

6/28/2011 10:05:34 am

Snow storm that day. (April 18) Which made it absolutly crazy to drive from Anchorage and a hospital with all needed facilities to Mat Su without those facilities, in dreadful roads.

No picture of Bristol that day? One of Levi, one with Piper, another with grandpa Todd, and Willow. None with Bristol?

FrostyAK

6/28/2011 10:28:25 am

Weather On April 18, 2008 in Wasilla:

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/PAWS/2008/4/18/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA

1Doubter

6/28/2011 10:43:12 am

OK. I haven't read any comments yet. But... was the year 2008 or 2009??? Was this supposedly TriG or Tripp? Piper looks VERY young there, so I assume it was in 2008... and if so, that would be a bombshell!

ginny

6/28/2011 11:01:48 am

Thanks lily lily and FrostAK! I guess Piper's outwear doesn't tell us anything, in that case.
I only know one thing for sure: when I see pics of Levi holding/kissing Trig, my gut says "That's a father with his baby." When my sister who is a mom first saw Bristol with Trig at the VP announcement and the RNC of 2008, she just assumed it was Bristol's child. She knew nothing at all about Sarah Palin at the time, or her family. Based on how Bristol held and interacted with Trig (as opposed to how Sarah did), and how Bristol looked to her (postpartum and nursing), she really had thought that this was Bristol's child. When I first told her, no that's Sarah's child, she said, No way. She trusts her gut, too.

FEDUP!!!

6/28/2011 11:17:22 am

FWIW: The baby in the blue sweater in the palin emails is NOT a DS baby!
However, the baby that Bri$tol holds on the grass IS (and is on oxygen also, too, IMHO!). Track in that pic looks totally 100% Menard - his smile is totally different from the Palin smile...

Interesting if these are the only pics from emails, and Bri$tol was upset about the pic with HER baby in the email...

FEDUP!!!

6/28/2011 11:44:20 am

BTW: Bri$tol sure looks BIG in the picture from the paper! For it being her FIRST baby supposedly, and being a teenager at that time, she should have shown MUCH smaller at that stage (5 months?)IMO. (I didn't 'show' until I was 6 months along, but then I was also young (23), and of average built, so my baby-weight was evenly distributed. (I only gained 20lbs total, and did not wear maternity clothes (couldn't afford them...)

6/28/2011 01:00:20 pm

Wow, lots to chew on. A few thoughts...

1) When I first saw the photo of the blue-sweater baby on the airplane, I assumed it must be a staffer's baby or something, because it didn't look like any of the babies presented as Trig. In light of Bristol's complaint about the hacked emails, I wonder. Any chance of getting a medical expert to look at the photo & give an opinion on whether it's a FAS baby? He seems to have some of the characteristics: underdeveloped jaw, small eye openings, flat face.

2) A comment I've made over at IM but that has never gotten traction is that there is a glaring date discrepancy between the accounts of how Bristol and Levi told Sarah about the Tripp pregnancy. Bristol and Levi tell the same tale: it was in early May, around Levi's birthday & the shower for Trig. Frank Bailey tells a different story (quite detailed, described in context of other things going on at the time): Palin calling him in mid-August, so distraught she could barely speak, to tell him that Bristol was pregnant and wanted to keep the baby. So what gives? Did Levi & Bristol agree to lie, to bolster the claim that Bristol could not have given birth to Trig, supposedly on 4/18? Or did Palin lie to Bailey, relaying "news" she had known for months? If so, was she just pretending to be so distraught? Or could she have been truly upset, but about something else? This one makes my head hurt.

A last comment is that the 2008 VF comment is indeed chilling. "The key is a nurse..." and then a nurse turns up dead? How could this possibly have not merited major investigation? If there was a "large payment," surely there must be bank records, or people who Dar talked to who knew the story, or something.

Rationalist

6/28/2011 03:26:11 pm

so for sure that comment preceded dar miller's death?

Juneauite

6/28/2011 05:10:32 pm

TexasGal2009 - I wondered if there was a connection between Sarah Palin and Duane Triplett. I did a quick google search for "Duane Triplett" and "Sarah Palin" and came up with this link:

http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/item/96/ANOTHER_COFFEE_BREAK_KINGDOM_ECONOMICS_XXXIII

If this is correct, Sarah Palin was a sportscaster at KIMO-TV in 1988 when Duane Triplett was the owner. According to this blog posting Duane "replaced her with another sportscaster".

Exp:Nov.05/08

6/28/2011 09:34:57 pm

Juneauite: that is a very disturbing connection you've discovered. Reading here is the first I've seen anything about a third fire around that same time.
So now it's a NICU nurse's house, Palin's church, and the owner of a news station's house. Three deadly fires, all in the same week, all with implied attachment to Palin. Those are some long odds for someone who doesn't believe in coincidences.

lilly lily

6/29/2011 12:50:02 am

If so, there is a sociopathic arsonist who is capable of murder.

Perhaps when they have a psychotic breakdown. Then calm down afterwards.

Anything in that crazy town is possible. What was it knickname "The Meth Capital of Alaska"?

lilly lily

6/29/2011 01:12:42 am

I was a little harsh there on Wasilla.

I'm sure there are many Wasillians who are wonderful folks.

I just can't see why they don't out the witch and tell what they know. Afraid?

Because they do know much more than the trolls who come here to say how wonderful she is. I always think it is Lou Sarah or RAM who write those tributes to Sarah Louise Heath Palin.

6/29/2011 02:49:31 am

Sometimes a coincidence is just a coincidence.

Years ago I went to a holiday party. The host's family and friends were in attendance. For the most part they were separate groups, with friends not knowing family & vice verse.

The following week, one of the host's family members robbed a bank. The getaway car he'd stolen belonged to another guest at that party. It would be easy to draw the conclusion this was more that mere coincidence, but it wasn't. The only connection between those two people was that they'd both attended the same party the prior week.

I would absolutely buy the idea of coincidence with the # of fires in Wasilla that week if it was indeed the coldest time of year. Heating systems on overload can malfunction. Wasilla is a small town, so it is natural that nearly every long-time resident has some kind of connection to every other long-time resident.

FrostyAK

6/29/2011 04:51:59 am

On Wasillians - I think there are a few who know a lot but are afraid to talk. Then there are those $P BFF's (ya know the unqualified HS chums she appointed to big paying jobs and are still running the AK government and covering for her) who are on the gravy train. The rest seem to be a very incurious bunch - either don't know a thing, or just won't talk about $palin in any context for fear of losing friends, or...

Wasilla got the moniker of Meth Capitol of Alaska while $P was mayor. A number of people in HS when she was were on that train. It was about the time they made pot illegal in AK that meth became so prominent.

martona

6/30/2011 04:10:56 am

See this site ...

http://parentingfreedom.com/2009/02/17/gretas-interview-with-bristol-palin-and-tripp-and-gov-sarah-palin/

... for more "new" photos, two in addition to the two included above. Above it was mentioned that two of these photos were no longer there, but I find them plus two more.

Barb Dwyer

7/1/2011 04:29:52 am

I've been trying to get the records released on the Dar Miller fire for a couple of years now and have been stonewalled at every turn. The Fire Dept. for Wasilla is under control of the Mat-Su Borough and the Mayor of Mat-Su Borough is none other than Talis Colberg, long time defender of everything Sarah. During Troopergate he was our Attorney General and told Todd and 7 other staffers to ignore Legislative subpoena's causing Todd and the 7 others to be found guilty of contempt of the Legislature. He then promptly resigned his position as A.G. and ran for the Mayor of Mat-Su. So it's no wonder those records have been buried

7/1/2011 05:04:16 am

when did Piper not have her front teeth?

Chickapee

7/1/2011 06:45:44 am

I have always felt that Tripp does not belong to Bristol. He was a convenient distraction from the possibility of Trig belonging to Bristol. Check this pic out of a family reunion. The only blond children belong to Sarah's sis. The little blond boy looks a lot like Tripp. I am sure it isn't Tripp, but they could be brothers. Tripp born a little later of course. I am not computer savvy,therefore I could not post the pic. It was taken in Dec 2007, and it has the name Kaylene Johnson. It was a family pic of all the Heath's and their families. It was put in the newspaper.

Julia Brown

7/1/2011 08:04:10 am

The reason the exif data gives that date is these pictures were created from screen grabs from the FOX Greta Van Sustern interview of Bristol, the only place these two pictures were ever released. They are both interesting for other reasons BUT the date of 2/17/09 isn't one of them.

Your turn, girlfriend!

7/1/2011 12:39:04 pm

Oh, MerceeEEeedes!! It's time for some more piiiictures!!!

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