In an interview with CNN, author Joe McGinnis said the reason why he made extensive use of anonymous sources for his book on Sarah Palin was because threats are the ‘Palin way’.

“The Palins scare people. The Palins intimidate, they threaten. People in Wasilla are very scared of the Palins, and this goes back to her time as mayor,” the author said. “They fear retribution. There are people who wouldn’t even meet me socially because if Sarah found out, anything could happen.”

McGinniss irritated the Palins by renting a house next door to theirs in Wasilla, Alaska, when he was researching the book.

The author recalled an incident in which Todd Palin came over to him on the porch shortly after he moved in to say, “Let’s just see how long you stay here.”

“He greeted me with a threat. That’s the Palin way — threatening,” McGinniss said on CNN.