Sarah Palin has ended her nine-year legal battle against the New York Times, dropping her defamation lawsuit on the second day of a retrial in Manhattan federal court. The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate had initially sued the newspaper over a 2017 editorial that incorrectly linked her political rhetoric to a 2011 mass shooting that injured then-congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
The retrial was granted after the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals found procedural errors by Judge Jed Rakoff in the first trial, which Palin lost in 2022. Rakoff had improperly disclosed to jurors that he planned to set aside any verdict in Palin's favour, and he withheld evidence that the editorial page editor knew the piece was inaccurate. Some jurors received push notifications about Rakoff's decision during deliberations.
Legal experts noted that the case raised First Amendment concerns, as public figures face a high bar in proving defamation under the 'actual malice' standard. Roy Gutterman of Syracuse University said the case reflected a broader trend of politicians suing media outlets, but added that Palin's claim was unlikely to succeed. Robert Corn-Revere of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression called the retrial 'more of a standard defamation claim' rather than a referendum on free speech.
Palin's decision to drop the lawsuit avoids a potential precedent-setting appeal. The New York Times said in a statement that it was 'gratified' by the outcome, while Palin's lawyer indicated she would continue to fight for accountability in media.
