McCain VP nominee says daughter, 17, is pregnant

ST PAUL, Minnesota, Tuesday - John McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, said yesterday her 17-year-old unmarried daughter was five months pregnant, one of a string of disclosures that left the McCain campaign defending the thoroughness of its background check of the little-known Alaska governor.

It was also revealed on Monday that a lawyer had been hired to represent Ms Palin in a state ethics investigation and that her husband, Todd, had been arrested for drunken driving two decades ago. The man who led Mr McCain’s vice presidential search team said he thought everything that came up as a possible red flag during the background check had now been made public.

“I think so,” Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr said. “Yes. I think so. Correct.”

The pregnancy statement, attributed to Sarah and Todd Palin and released by the campaign, said that Bristol Palin would keep her baby and marry the child’s father, identified only as a young man named Levi.

“Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents,” Sarah and Todd Palin said in their statement.

Ms Palin had told Mr McCain’s team about the pregnancy and her husband’s arrest during lengthy discussions about her background, aides said. Shortly after her announcement, Mr McCain’s team dispatched a dozen operatives and lawyers to Alaska, fuelling speculation that a comprehensive examination of Ms Palin’s past was incomplete and being done only after she was placed on the ticket. Mr Culvahouse denied that.

Public Safety

As for the Alaska investigation, a Republican-dominated legislative committee is investigating whether Ms Palin dismissed Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan after he refused to fire a state trooper who had divorced Palin’s sister. The state’s attorney general, Mr Talis Colberg, hired Thomas V. Van Flein more than two weeks ago to represent Ms Palin and members of her staff, according to Van Flein. (Agencies)