Jury finds 'The New York Times' did not libel former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin [View all]

NEW YORK — A jury concluded Tuesday that The New York Times did not libel former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for an error in a 2017 editorial that she says damaged her reputation.


The jury deliberated a little over two hours before reaching its verdict after lawyers for Palin and the newspaper delivered closing arguments at a Manhattan federal court civil trial that is in its second week.

Palin testified Monday that death threats against her increased and her spirits drooped after an editorial about gun violence said her political action committee had contributed to political rhetoric that enabled an atmosphere of violence.

The Times corrected the article less than 14 hours after it was published.

Kenneth Turkel, an attorney for Palin, urged the jury to find the Times liable for defamation on the grounds that its former editorial page editor, James Bennet, either knew what he was publishing was wrong or acted with "reckless disregard" for the truth.

He told the jury it should award Palin compensatory damages for the harm done to her reputation and private mental anguish, adding that they should "find a number and let her get some closure to this thing."

"To this day, there been no accountability," he said. "That's why we're here."

He told jurors not to be deceived by Palin's "bouncy" persona on the witness stand.

"She doesn't cry a lot," Turkel said. "It may have been to them an honest mistake. For her, it was a life changer."

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/22/g-s1-62157/new-york-times-alaska-governor-sarah-palin-libel