Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin lost a defamation trial against the New York Times on Tuesday, after alleging that the paper ran a libelous opinion article about her in 2017.
The article in question suggested that Palin’s political action committee, SarahPAC, encouraged a mass shooting in 2011 in which Representative Gabby Giffords was injured. Palin’s lawsuit against the Times was thrown out twice before the former vice-presidential candidate’s case was granted a retrial last year.
Nine jurors deliberated for two hours before they found that the Times was not liable for publishing the falsehood.
Times lawyers argued in court this week that “there’s not been one shred of evidence showing anything other than an honest mistake,” after crafting a defense that argued the newspaper did not intentionally publish the error. In a correction issued 14 hours after the article’s publication, Times editors acknowledged staff “incorrectly stated that a link existed between political rhetoric and the 2011 shooting.”
“We didn’t prevail in federal court against the New York Times. But please keep fighting for integrity in media,” Palin said on social media. “I’ll keep asking the press to quit making things up. Keep the faith.”
Ex-Times editor James Bennet admitted in court last Thursday that he “blew it” in 2017, adding that he was “really upset, and I still am, obviously.”
“I blew it, you know” Bennet said while choking up on the witness stand. “I made a mistake. I did, and I do apologize to Governor Palin for this mistake.”
Palin, meanwhile, testified that she received death threats as a result of the 2017 article. The Manhattan jury did not find that Palin’s lawyers proved that the outlet displayed “actual malice” against her.
“This was the game changer. This was the attack on my reputation that created a helpless feeling,” Palin said in court. “To have the loudest voice in the room just making things up . . . it just kicks the oomph right out of ya.”
It is unclear if Palin’s legal team will appeal the verdict. When asked, Palin said “we haven’t talked about what we’ll do next legally.”
“The decision reaffirms an important tenet of American law: publishers are not liable for honest mistakes,” Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said.