Contradictions Pile Up Around Vanity Fair’s Palin Hit Piece

Vanity Fair writer Michael Joseph Gross has already admitted to one error in his profile of Sarah Palin, but the contradictions and controversies surrounding his hit piece continue to stack up.

In a Sept. 7 post on The Corner, Katrina Trinko "refudiated" Gross's characterization of Palin as vicious, vengeful, and fake. Unlike Gross's sources, almost all of which were anonymous, Trinko provided citations.

Gross had cited "people who know" suggesting Palin's relationship with close friends Kristan Cole and Kris Perry had "deteriorated." But Cole reportedly told Trinko the charge was "absolutely not true. I don't know where they get this stuff from, honestly."

A former Palin aide, Ivy Frye, also contradicted Gross's characterization that she parted ways with Palin "on bad terms." "I didn't leave on ‘bad terms,'" she said in a statement. "Gross' 8 page hit piece is a complete work of fiction from beginning to end."

Gross recently admitted to misreporting the profile's opening story - in which he had originally suggested Palin was using her son, Trig, who has Down syndrome, to gain political sympathy. The child he'd seen was the son of Palin's friend Gina Loudon. "This was a mistake, and I regret the error," Gross wrote in a statement.

But the story posted on Vanity Fair's website makes no note of the retraction. The original storyappears unedited.

Gross had previously defended his work by telling MSNBC "Morning Joe" hosts that, "I have a lot in common with this woman." Elsewhere in his "Morning Joe" interview, Gross also called Palin "a person for whom there is no topic too small to lie about" and said, "She lies  about everything." Maybe they're not so different after all.

Like this article? Sign up for "Culture Links," CMI's weekly e-mail newsletter, byclicking here.