Palin used her second-day witness stand to accuse The Times of fabricating lies that damaged her reputation. This was the basis for a lawsuit against the newspaper. It has now been brought before a federal court in Manhattan.
Palin stated, “It was devastating to read a false accusation about me having anything to do with killing.” Palin said, “I felt powerless. I was up against Goliath. The people were David. “I was David.”
She said, “When lies are being told about you, it causes stress.” It is difficult to get a good night of sleep.
In 2017, Palin sued The Times for unspecified damages, a decade after her rise to the top as Republican vice-presidential candidate. The editorial about gun control that Palin published following the shooting of U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise (a Louisiana Republican) in which a man with a history anti-GOP activity attacked a Washington Congressional baseball practice was an example of how the newspaper had hurt her career as a consultant and political commentator.
In The editorial, Times stated that Palin’s political-action committee contributed to violence by circulating a map of electoral areas that placed Giffords, along with 19 other Democrats, in stylized crosshairs.
Palin stated that her view was that the New York Times, which is the be all and final word in the media, had “taken a knee-jerk response and tried to score political points trying to politicize horrendous violence.”
Two days after publication of the editorial, The Times corrected it and stated that the editorial “incorrectly stated there was a link between political rhetoric and 2011 shooting” as well as that the map had been incorrectly described.
The jury will decide whether James Bennet, former editor of the editorial page, acted with “actual malice” meaning that he knew the article was false or with “reckless disregard” when inserting the disputed words into the piece.
Wednesday’s testimony by Bennet was contrite. He admitted that he had regretted the edit “practically every day since”, but said it meant no harm.
The Times lawyers argued that Palin’s brand was not damaged by the episode. They pointed out that Palin still appears on Fox News and is often hired for speaking engagements.
She said that it was the best 90 seconds of her life when she was asked about the show during cross-examination on Thursday.
Palin, who is 57 years old, admitted that she had never asked the Times to correct, retract or apologize before she filed the suit. She claimed she didn’t bother asking because “it was common sense.” They knew they had printed an untruth.”
Both sides ceased speaking shortly after Palin’s testimony was concluded. Both sides were given Friday to conclude their arguments.
