WASILLA, Alaska, May 28 (UPI) -- A neighbor in Wasilla, Alaska, approached author Joe McGinniss about his renting a house next door to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the author's son said.
Joe McGinniss, Jr. said he supported his father's decision to take the neighbor up on her offer, saying to do otherwise would be "journalistic malpractice," the New York Daily News reported Thursday.
The elder McGinniss, who has written about the Nixon campaign among other non-fiction works, currently is working on a book about Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate and current commentator on Fox News.
In an e-mail sent to a Palin supporter and published by Politico, the younger McGinniss said the neighbor sought out his father reportedly because the Palins owed her money for renovations she completed at their request.
"So she knew McGinniss was writing the book and found him and offered him the house," the best-selling author's son wrote.
"He's not stalking or peeping or peering or meddling," the e-mail said. "He's simply fulfilling his obligations to his publisher and his readers and himself -- to get as close to the subject of his book as possible."
On her Facebook page Monday, Palin launched a salvo at her new, albeit temporary, neighbor.
"Knowing of his many other scathing pieces of 'journalism' ... we're sure to have a doozey to look forward to with this treasure he's penning," Palin posted. "Wonder what kind of material he'll gather while overlooking Piper's bedroom, my little garden, and the family's swimming hole?"
In his e-mail, the younger McGinniss called Palin's comments a "middle-school style reaction."
