Ex-New York Times editorial page editor apologizes to Sarah Palin at defamation trial

NEW YORK (AP) - An emotional former opinion page editor for The New York Times delivered a tearful apology Thursday to Sarah Palin as he testified about a 2017 editorial that she says damaged her reputation.

James Bennet testified that he "blew it" when he erroneously wrote that the former Alaska governor's political action committee had contributed to an atmosphere of violence before a member of Congress was severely wounded in a 2011 mass shooting in Arizona.

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 the onetime Republican vice presidential candidate, saying he was "really upset, and I still am, obviously." 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 a lunch break, Judge Jed S. Rakoff told lawyers that Bennet had offered a "heartfelt" and "moving" apology to Palin.

Palin, who is scheduled to testify next week, seemed less impressed. She shrugged off the apology as she left the courthouse, questioning how much time had passed since the editorial was published and then corrected in less than a day.

"Let’s see, how many years ago was the untruth?" she asked. She then declined further comment before getting in a car to head to the airport.

The testimony came as Bennet and the Times defend themselves at trial for a second time against Palin’s lawsuit.

In February 2022, a jury found against Palin’s libel claims, but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan last year revived the case, citing errors made by Rakoff.

Palin sued the Times for unspecified damages in 2017, saying it damaged her reputation and career as a political commentator with the editorial about gun control published after U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, was wounded when a man with a history of anti-GOP activity opened fire on a congressional baseball team practice in Washington.

In the editorial, the Times wrote that before the 2011 mass shooting in Arizona that severely wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords and killed six others, Palin's political action committee had contributed to an atmosphere of violence by circulating a map of electoral districts that put Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized crosshairs.

In a correction, the Times said the editorial had "incorrectly stated that a link existed between political rhetoric and the 2011 shooting" and had "incorrectly described" the map.