Sarah Palin May Sue McGinniss for Defamation in 'The Rogue'

Sarah Palin may sue Joe McGinniss, the author of the controversial biography The Rogue, for defamation.

McGinniss moved in next door to the Palin family in Wasilla, Alaska, to gather material for his book. It received a huge amount of attention when it was published recently, particularly for allegations such as that Palin had a one-night stand with former NBA player Glen Rice in 1987.

This book contains a series of lies and rumors presented as fact and combined with 'anonymous' sources, John Tiemessen, a lawyer for Palin, said in an email to McGinniss and his publisher, Crown Publishing. The letter advised McGinniss and Crown not to destroy any correspondence or other materials that could serve as evidence in a defamation lawsuit.

Tiemessen referenced a letter that McGinniss sent to a political blogger in Alaska, in which McGinniss acknowledged that, at that point in the process, he was unsure of the accuracy of some parts of the book -- including the most salacious allegations, such as that Palin's son Track was a druggie or that her son Trig was not actually her son.

Jesse, if you can put me in touch with people who are willing and able to substantiate any of the above, now is the time to do so, McGinniss wrote, according to The Alaska Dispatch. Otherwise, I hope you won't complain that there are no startling new revelations in my book.

Tiemessen does not believe McGinniss was ever able to substantiate those claims. The final work that was published contains most of the stories that Mr. McGinniss complains were nothing more than 'tawdry gossip' that amounted to the wishful fantasies of disturbed individuals, he wrote in his letter to Crown Publishing. Since both your company, and the author, clearly knew the statements were false, admitted they had no basis in fact or reality, but decided to publish in order to harm Governor Palin's family, you and Mr. McGinniss have defamed the Palins.

But Crown Publishers defended McGinniss' reporting.

We are confident that the reporting in 'The Rogue' is solid, reliable and well-substantiated, spokesman Stuart Applebaum told the Los Angeles Times. We stand by our publication and our author.

Earlier this month, McGinniss himself defended his book on NBC's The Today Show.

I think I was as fair as I could possibly have been given the fact that she told all the people who were closest to her not to talk to me, he said.