Sarah Palin loses defamation retrial against The New York Times

A New York federal court jury on Tuesday concluded that The New York Times had not libeled Sarah Palin in a 2017 editorial. The jury took about two hours to reach a decision, the Associated Press reported. The former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate first sued the paper in 2017, after it published an editorial erroneously linking rhetoric from her political action committee to the 2011 shooting of former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords. The New York Times quickly corrected the story, but Palin said it seriously damaged her reputation.

A district court previously ruled against Palin in 2017, and again in 2022. Also in 2022, a jury issued a verdict in favor of The New York Times. But last year the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals revived the case for a retrial, citing procedural errors.

How did Palin react? Palin wrote in a social media post after the decision that she would keep advocating for integrity in the media. She also said she was looking forward to returning home to her family and springtime in Alaska, according to a video attached to the post. Her legal team will evaluate whether to appeal the case again, the Associated Press reported.

How did The New York Times react? Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for the paper, said in a statement that the decision reaffirms that in American law, publishers aren’t liable for honest mistakes.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report on trial proceedings for more details on the case.