Levi Johnston, who gave a dishy interview to Vanity Fair magazine and will be appearing in the nude for Playgirl, made an appearance on The Early Show this morning to talk about all the things he could spill about his former almost-mother-in-law Sarah Palin (former Vice Presidential candidate and former Alaska governor) in a seemingly candid interview. Johnston reveals that he is hiding “huge things” about Sarah Palin that would really “hurt her” but out of love for his child (with Palin daughter Bristol) he has thus far refused to divulge. Here is a screencap from Levi‘s appearance on The Early Show today and some excerpts from PART 1 of his interview:

Levi Johnston says he’s keeping some “huge” things about Sarah Palin from the public. In Part One of a two-part exclusive interview with “Early Show” co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, which aired Wednesday, the father of Palin’s grandson says, “There are some things that I have that are huge. And I haven’t said them because I’m not gonna hurt her that way. ” … I have things that can, you know — that would get her in trouble, and could hurt her. Will hurt her. But I’m not gonna go that far. You know, I mean, if I really wanted to hurt her, I could, very easily. But there’s — I’m not gonna do it. I’m not going that far.” Johnston says he’s referring to things Palin did while she was governor of Alaska. Asked whether those actions were illegal or immoral, he refused to elaborate. Johnston also told Rodriguez he’s been hearing a lot about his saying in a recent first-person tell-all in Vanity Fair magazine that Palin routinely referred to her baby, Trig, who suffers from Down syndrome, as “retarded.” “I was just in shock for the first time I heard it,” Johnston recalled for Rodriguez. “And then she’d say it regularly. And I think she was joking, but it doesn’t make it right.” Still, Johnston remarked to Rodriguez, “Those are just little … things I put in Vanity Fair. You know, all the big things I got, I’m keeping — you know, I’m keeping them in, and — you know, it’s just something that probably will never come out.” He added that he’s “sure Sarah’s got something … coming for me,” perhaps in her soon-to-be-released memoir, but, “I’m not worried about her saying anything about me. I’ve really never done anything bad. I don’t have anything to hide. So she can go on and say what she wants.” Johnston stood by his contention in Vanity Fair that Sarah and Todd Palin would not only regularly talk about divorce — they’d do it in front of their children, adding to Rodriguez, “I’m sure it really hurt their kids, you know. I didn’t like it. I wasn’t even their kid.” Spokespeople for the Palins deny the divorce assertion. Johnston told Rodriguez Palin’s daughter, Bristol Palin, the mother of his son, Tripp, did most of the mothering of Trig, because Sarah and Todd weren’t around much. Now an aspiring actor and model, Johnston is going for the ultimate exposure — in an upcoming issue of Playgirl magazine. He told Rodriguez the Playgirl spread will be done “tastefully,” saying, “I’m not gonna just go out there and get naked.” He expands on that in Part Two of the interview, which airs Thursday. The interview with Rodriguez is the latest in a he-said-she-said battle with the Palin family. Johnston burst onto the public stage at the Republican National Convention in August, the handsome boyfriend of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s pregnant daughter. After the Republicans lost the election, Johnston and Bristol broke up. She had his baby in December. But he says the Palins shut him out of their lives. And that’s when the battle began, each side accusing the other of lying.

Now, because Johnston and Palin have been embroiled in a war of words you have to take what each side says with a huge grain of salt … that being said, if Palin really is guilty of “playfully” calling her child “my retarded baby” then I am truly disgusted. Considering that Johnston was pulled into the Palin household after he got Bristol pregs (in an effort to keep better media control of his person) it makes sense that he would be privy to some very embarrassing and damaging things about the family. Tho, the fact that he’s pimping his upcoming nude pictorial for Playgirl in the process does take a bit of weight away from his claims. After the jump, watch video of Part 1 of Levi‘s Early Show interview and judge for yourselves …

On the one hand, I absolutely believe that this kid most deff has first-hand knowledge of the Palin family that could be extremely damaging … on the other hand, I know that this kid is really trying to make a name for himself as a pseudo-celebrity … in the end, one must take what he says with a HUGE grain of salt. But I absolutely believe that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. It sounds like Levi Johnston could be a huge problem for Sarah Palin in the future … if he really wants to be. The question becomes, will Palin attack him enough to force his hand? I guess we’ll have to wait and see where this war of words takes us.

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