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Ex-NY Times editor breaks down in tears, apologizes to Sarah Palin at defamation trial
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but former Alaska gov wasn’t buying it
Ex-NY Times editor breaks down in tears, apologizes to Sarah Palin at defamation trial — but former Alaska gov wasn’t buying it
James Bennet testified he “blew it” when he falsely claimed in an editorial that Palin’s PAC had contributed to an atmosphere of violence in 2011.
nypost.com
A former opinion page editor of the New York Times broke down in tears and apologized to Sarah Palin while testifying in court over a 2017 editorial that she says was defamatory.
James Bennet testified on Thursday that he “blew it” when he falsely claimed in the editorial that the former Alaska governor’s political action committee had contributed to an atmosphere of violence in the weeks and months leading up to the 2011 assassination attempt on then-Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.).
The Times has acknowledged the editorial was inaccurate but said it quickly corrected the “honest mistake.”
~Snip~
The testimony unfolded as Bennet and the Times face trial for a second time over Palin’s defamation suit.
While a jury ruled against her libel claims in February 2022, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan reinstated the case last year, citing mistakes made by Rakoff.
~Snip~
Palin’s lawsuit revolves around an earlier version of a Times editorial that appeared after a shooting at a congressional baseball practice in Virginia.
The piece inaccurately suggested a connection between that incident and a map from Palin’s political action committee, which featured crosshairs over several Democratic congressional districts.
The editorial referenced a separate 2011 mass shooting that killed six people and seriously wounded Giffords. However, no evidence has emerged that the shooter ever viewed the map.
The Times quickly corrected the editorial and issued an apology on social media.
Palin’s legal team is working to portray Bennet, the former Times editorial page editor, as having deliberately inserted language in the piece to assign blame to her.
~Snip~
He further testified that he didn’t verify the facts he had inserted, believing he had not added new information and that editors would review it.
Bennet grew visibly emotional when discussing whether an apology had been offered to Palin. During opening arguments, Palin’s attorney Shane Vogt claimed the Times never apologized directly to her and did not name her in its correction.
He added that the reference to the PAC map was never meant to reflect personally on Palin.
“There wasn’t any part of me that thought that Sarah Palin herself had drawn the crosshairs on the map or something like that,” he said.
The trial is scheduled to resume next week, with Palin expected to take the stand.
Commentary:
No apology to be accepted with a 50 million dollar award for damages. Both the NY Times and Bennet should have to pay up...
This was just another of those “fake but inaccurate” NYT “reports” that won a Pulitzer Prize?
This liberal journalist needs to understand that his language can’t be translated outside of the Neo=Marxist Left wing bubble. Virtue signaling is not amends. Reasonable people don’t want kneeling or recognition. No tears. Real accountability is real consequence. If you can’t be objective, you can’t be a journalist. It shouldn’t take a trial like this to trigger self reflection.
Most of us remember when this happened. In the media, it was cool to go after Sarah Palin. During the campaign she was besieged with lawsuits. The early stages of the lawfare that has become so popular in attacking Republicans
Judge Rakoff’s analysis is an obvious attempt to force a settlement. They should have settled already: for whatever Palin asked for + 10%. Libel is always page one, and the correction page 17.
Ex-NY Times editor breaks down in tears, apologizes to Sarah Palin at defamation trial — but former Alaska gov wasn’t buying it
