James Bennet, the former editor of the New York Times, testified on April 17 during the ongoing libel retrial involving Sarah Palin. He provided a powerful and emotional testimony, including an impassioned apology directly to Palin. She alleges that a 2017 editorial libeled her by associating her negative political campaigning to a candidate’s shooting death in 2011.
The editorial piece in question falsely suggested that Palin’s political action committee’s map had connections to the shooting that resulted in six deaths and left former Representative Gabby Giffords injured. Bennet confessed he felt intense pressure from the short time constraints that caused a lot of his poor decision-making.
I wrecked it — I mean, you know — I blew it, you know. I made a mistake,” Bennet said in his testimony, grappling with the emotional weight of his editorial choices. He acknowledged that he went too far in saying that there was a direct connection between the political rhetoric and the shooting. This mistake was the impetus for Palin’s lawsuit against the Times.
Even the judge presiding over the case called Bennet’s apology “heartfelt” in expressing that measure of sincerity. Both Aiken and Palin seemed unperturbed at the difficult apology, dismissing the admission while their lawsuit progressed. The litigation between Palin and the New York Times sharpened again around the time that a jury rejected her complaint in the spring of 2022. This action ultimately resulted in a judge’s ruling throwing out the case. After an appeal, the next trial date was moved to April 15.
Following the release of the now-infamous editorial, the New York Times quickly posted a correction. They saw, as we did, that their language implied a connection between Palin’s inflammatory rhetoric and the shooter’s violence. This alleged connection led to considerable public outcry and brought Palin considerable personal anguish.
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