Sarah Palin outside court for her defamation trial againstThe New York Times.Photo: John Minchillo/AP/Shutterstock
Sarah Palintook the stand for multiple days this week in what she called a “David and Goliath” defamation case againstThe New York Timesover a past editorial that falsely linked her political group to a mass shooting.
It was an honest mistake, the piece’s editor argued in his testimony in the trial. But, testifying herself, the former Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee said she had lost sleep over the accusation and said that it affected her career.
“It was devastating to read a false accusation that I had anything to do with murder,” Palin said on Thursday,per the Associated Press. “I felt powerless — that I was up against Goliath. The people were David. I was David.”
TheTimespiece initially stated there was a link between the map and the shooting, though the papercorrected thattwo days later, admitting was no such link was established.
“We’re sorry about this and we appreciate that our readers called us on the mistake,” the paper said in a social media post.
As a public figure, Palin will have to convince the jury that theTimesacted with “actual malice” (either a reckless disregard for the truth or awareness of something being false) in order to win.
Sarah Palin outside court for her defamation trial againstThe New York Times.Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
After Palin sued for defamation, a judgeinitially dismissedthe case. But afederal appealscourt revived it — leading to the current trial.
On the stand at the trial, formerTimeseditorial page editor James Bennet called the incident a “terrible mistake,“the AP reported.
“We are human beings. We do make mistakes,” Bennet said, adding: “I’ve regretted it pretty much every day since. That’s on me. That’s my failure.”
According to one reporterin the courtroom, aTimeslawyer argued Palin will face an uphill battle in claiming that she suffered emotional damage due to the editorial, noting that she is well known for using pro-gun rhetoric to her advantage, often with the expression “don’t retreat, reload.”
Under questioning on the stand, Palinreportedly saidshe had lost sleep over the incident, telling the jury it was “hard to lay my head peacefully on the pillow at night, yes,” but saying she managed the stress “holistically.”
Elsewhere in the proceedings Thursday, Palin said “things changed” after the editorial was published, calling theTimes"the be all and end all” who took “a knee-jerk reaction and tried to score political points, trying to politicize horrific violence.”
Still, Palin could not point to any lost income as a result of the incident, with attorneys for theTimesnoting that she has made paid appearances since the editorial, including astint on Fox’sThe Masked Singer.
From left: Ron Duguay and Sarah Palin arriving to her defamation trial againstThe New York Times.J Mayer/Shutterstock
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The case was scheduled to begin last month but was delayed due to Palin testingpositive for COVID-19.
Duguay was also recently photographed eating with Palin,sparking rumors of a relationship. Page Six reported, per anonymous sources, that they have been an item since late last year.
Palin made reference to hockey in the trial on Thursday, telling opposing counsel, “As I sit here today, in the penalty box,I don’t recall specifically,” when asked if she had discussed the editorial with her family.
source: people.com
