Former New York Times editor breaks down in tears in libel trial (2025)

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A former New York Times editor broke down in tears as he made an emotional apology to Sarah Palin over a 2017 editorial that she claims damaged her reputation.

James Bennet testified on Friday in a libel case brought by Palin over a 2017 piece written by the former opinion page editor in response to the shooting of Congressman Steve Scalise in 2017.

Scalise was wounded when a left-wing activist opened fire at a practice for the annual congressional baseball game, and was the first member of congress to be shot since Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords was wounded in 2011.

In the New York Times opinion piece after Scalise was shot, Bennet's editorial board wrote that the former Alaska governor's PAC (Political Action Committees) had contributed to an atmosphere of violence that led to Giffords' shooting.

Bennet choked up and wept on Friday as he testified that he 'blew it' when he published the piece, saying: 'I did, and I do apologize to Governor Palin for this mistake.'

The Times is fighting the lawsuit, saying it admitted the editorial was inaccurate but the 'honest mistake' was quickly corrected in less than a day.

Judge Jed S. Rakoff appeared to sympathize with Bennet as he called a recess during Friday's proceedings, telling lawyers that the former editor offered a 'heartfelt' and 'moving' apology to Palin.

But the former lawmaker was less than impressed, as she told reporters outside the courthouse who asked for her reaction to the apology, saying: 'Let's see, how many years ago was the untruth?'

According to the Associated Press, Bennet's emotional testimony led one attorney to bring him a box of tissues to the stand.

Bennet apologized several times for the op-ed, saying he was 'really upset, and I still am, obviously.'

Palin is set to testify at the trial next week, with the Times now defending itself for a second time against the former Alaska Governor's libel suit.

A jury previously ruled against Palin's claims in February 2022, but her case was revived last year by the2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, citing errors made by Rakoff.

Palin first brought her action against the outlet in 2017, saying the article damaged her reputation and standing as a political commentator.

The Times' piece said that when Giffords was shot in Arizona in 2011, Palin's political action committee had contributed to the assassination attempt by circulating amap of electoral districts that put Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized crosshairs.

The article claimed Palin's PAC had contributed to an atmosphere of violence around the country, and drew a line between motivating the attempt on Giffords' life and thus the subsequent shooting of Scalise in 2017.

The article was titled 'America's Lethal Politics', and said the shooting at the congressional baseball game practice was 'evidence of how vicious American politics has become?'

Although the piece still stands online today, after it mentions the shooting of Giffords that also killed six people, the article cites Palin's crosshairs map and adds: 'But in that case no connection to the shooting was ever established.'

The Times issued a correction noting the editorial had 'incorrectly stated that a link existed between political rhetoric and the 2011 shooting.'

The correction added that the piece had 'incorrectly described' the map, as it 'depicted electoral districts, not individual Democratic lawmakers, beneath stylized cross hairs.'

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