Sarah Palin loses lawsuit against New York Times over libel allegations

A jury this week rejected former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s libel lawsuit against The New York Times.

The jury of nine began deliberations on Friday afternoon and on Tuesday said the newspaper did not libel the former vice presidential nominee through a 2017 editorial.

Palin in her lawsuit alleged that the newspaper damaged her reputation through the piece by its editorial board that falsely claimed her political rhetoric helped incite the 2011 shooting of former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords.

In a correction after the editorial was published, The Times said it “incorrectly stated that a link existed between political rhetoric and the 2011 shooting."

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said Monday that he would dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Palin and her attorneys did not show that The Times published the editorial out of malice, a requirement in libel lawsuits that involve public figures.

The judge made the statement while the jury was still deliberating and did not know of his comments, though he told the jurors after they reached their verdict.

Palin, while leaving the New York City courthouse on Tuesday, said “Of course, we’re disappointed” with the verdict.

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The New York Times said in a statement that the verdict 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.”

Kenneth Turkel, Palin’s attorney, told reporters after the verdict that he and his team would “evaluate all our options for appeal,” CNN reported. Turkel also said he believed the judge sharing his decision before the end of the trial was “premature.”

Palin also said Tuesday that she hoped for an appeal in the case.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sarah Palin loses lawsuit against New York Times over editorial