Sarah Palin loses NYT defamation lawsuit 1 day after judge says he'll dismiss case
Former Republican vice-presidential candidate and governor of Alaska Sarah Palin lost her lawsuit against The New York Times after a federal jury on Tuesday found that the publication did not defame her in an editorial linking her political action committee to the 2011 shooting of former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), The Wall Street Journal reports.
The verdict arrived just a day after a judge in the case said he would dismiss the lawsuit. Judge Jed Rakoff ruled that Palin "had failed to provide enough evidence that her reputation had been damaged by the editorial published in June 2017," CNBC writes. In order to win the case, Palin would have had to prove the Times acted with "actual malice," and knowingly or recklessly published false information about her.
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In a statement emailed to CNBC, Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said the publication "welcomes today's verdict."
"It is a reaffirmation of a fundamental tenet of American law: public figures should not be permitted to use libel suits to punish or intimidate news organizations that make, acknowledge and swiftly correct unintentional errors," she continued. "It is gratifying that the jury and the judge understood the legal protections for the news media and our vital role in American society. We also want to thank the jurors for their careful deliberations in a difficult area of the law."
