A former opinion page editor of the New York Times broke down in tears and apologized to Sarah Palin while testifying in court over a 2017 editorial that she says was defamatory.
James Bennet testified on Thursday that he “blew it” when he falsely claimed in the editorial that the former Alaska governor’s political action committee had contributed to an atmosphere of violence in the weeks and months leading up to the 2011 assassination attempt of then-congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
The Times has acknowledged the editorial was inaccurate but said it quickly corrected the “honest mistake.”
Bennet got choked up and teary as he apologized to Palin, saying he was “really upset, and I still am, obviously.”
“I blew it, you know,” Bennet said on the witness stand, choking up with emotion. “I made a mistake.”
A lawyer brought him a box of tissues as he testified for a second day at the defamation trial.
“I did, and I do apologize to Governor Palin for this mistake,” Bennet said.
Before the lunch recess, US District Court Judge Jed Rakoff told attorneys that Bennet had delivered a “heartfelt” and “moving” apology to Palin.
Palin, who was seen with her former New York Rangers star boyfriend Ron Duguay by her side earlier this week, appeared unconvinced, according to the Associated Press.
As she exited the courthouse, she dismissed the apology and pointed to the length of time since the editorial’s publication and its correction, which occurred within a day.
“Let’s see, how many years ago was the untruth?” she asked, then declined to elaborate before getting into a car bound for the airport.
The testimony unfolded as Bennet and the Times face trial for a second time over Palin’s defamation suit.
While a jury ruled against her libel claims in February 2022, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan reinstated the case last year, citing mistakes made by Judge Rakoff.
Palin’s lawsuit revolves around an earlier version of a Times editorial that appeared after a shooting at a congressional baseball practice in Virginia.
The piece inaccurately suggested a connection between that incident and a map from Palin’s political action committee, which featured cross hairs over several Democratic congressional districts.
The editorial referenced a separate 2011 mass shooting that killed six people and seriously wounded Giffords. However, no evidence has emerged that the shooter ever viewed the map.
The Times quickly corrected the editorial and issued an apology on social media.
Palin’s legal team is working to portray Bennet, the former Times editorial page editor, as having deliberately inserted language in the piece to assign blame to her.
Bennet and the Times maintain the inclusion was a genuine error made under deadline pressure — one that was quickly corrected.
On Wednesday, Bennet was asked about his brother, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Col.).
He testified that he may have known about threats to his brother’s office following the 2011 shooting, but as editor of The Atlantic at the time, he didn’t recall if the publication had covered the threats and noted that he had recused himself from any such reporting.
Bennet resumed testimony Thursday, with Palin present in court.
He confirmed that he revised portions of the editorial and added the phrase “the link to political incitement was clear” in reference to the Palin PAC map and the Arizona shooting.
However, he rejected the idea that he had intended to suggest a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
“I did not think we were saying the map caused him to act,” Bennet told the jury, clarifying that he believed the rhetoric “could have a role.”
He further testified that he didn’t verify the facts he had inserted, believing he had not added new information and that editors would review it.
Bennet grew visibly emotional when discussing whether an apology had been offered to Palin. During opening arguments, Palin’s attorney Shane Vogt claimed the Times never apologized directly to her and did not name her in its correction.
He added that the reference to the PAC map was never meant to reflect personally on Palin.
“There wasn’t any part of me that thought that Sarah Palin herself had drawn the cross hairs on the map or something like that,” he said.
The trial is scheduled to resume next week, with Palin expected to take the stand.
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