Ousted Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod said Thursday she plans to sue Andrew Breitbart, the conservative media activist who posted a misleadingly edited video that made her appear racist. Breitbart has said Sherrod wasn't his target — rather, he was seeking to expose members of the NAACP who attack the Tea Party for racism yet and applauded Sherrod when she talked about withholding aid from a white farmer. Sherrod said Breitbart "had to know he was targeting me." Will she be able to prove that in court? (Watch Shirley Sherrod's announcement)
Sherrod's lawsuit won't go anywhere: It will be "darned near impossible" for Shirley Sherrod to win, says Ed Morrissey in Hot Air. She was a public official, so even if Breitbart had been criticizing her, and not the NAACP, he was free to do so "in harsh and even unfair terms." And if she proved Breitbart acted with excessive "malice," Breitbart could counter-sue under the same terms, now that she's publicly and ridiculously accusing him of being "pro-slavery."
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