Sarah Palin’s lawsuit against The New York Times will soon head to court as jury selection begins January 24 in the four-year-old libel case.
Palin sued the publication over allegations of being defamed in 2017 by an editorial that linked a political action committee ad to a 2011 shooting that included serious injuries to then-Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords and killed six others.
U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff on Tuesday set January 24 as the selection date for jurors in the case to be set in Manhattan, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Palin is represented by a legal team led by Shane Vogt at Bajo Cuva Cohen Turkel while The New York Times is being handled by a team including David A. Schulz at Ballard Spahr,” according to the report.
“The initial version of the 2017 Times editorial said it was ‘clear’ that the 2011 shooting was linked to a map Palin’s political action committee released that included crosshairs over Giffords’ Tucson district. However, no such link has ever been established. The shooter … was found to be mentally ill and was sentenced to life in prison in 2012,” Politico reported in 2020.
The Times later corrected the wording, but Palin pursued the legal suit, claiming the outlet should be held responsible for the false claim.
The case was originally turned down in 2017. In 2019, a federal appeals court ruled the case could proceed under Judge Rakoff.
“Taking the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiff, she has sufficiently pointed to enough issues of triable fact that would enable a jury to find by clear and convincing evidence that Bennet knew, or was reckless not to know, that his words would convey the meaning in the minds of the readers that plaintiff asserts was libelous, to wit, that she bore a direct responsibility for inciting the Loughner shooting,” Rakoff wrote.
The case could lead to an interesting situation in which a New York jury is called upon to determine whether the conservative leader should receive income for legal damages from a publication within the jurors’ home state.
The New York Post noted a list of exhibits Palin’s legal team filed to exclude in the upcoming case.
“In a court filing in the Manhattan federal suit Monday, the former GOP vice presidential candidate listed a number of proposed exhibits she wants hidden from the jury because they could cause ‘unfair prejudice and confusion,’ among other issues,” The Post reported.
“Among the exhibits listed are ‘Masked Singer Video – Dancing and Rapping’ and ‘Masked Singer Video – Reveal,’” The Post added.
Palin recently made headlines in December during an interview with Newsmax host Eric Bolling on “The Balance” in which she stated she would “love” to return to politics. The Daily Wire previously reported:
“You’re a very popular personality. You’re a very popular politician,” Bolling told Palin. “Do you have aspirations to get back into elected office, or anything more in politics? What’s next for Sarah Palin?”
“I would love to. I would never say never,” Palin replied without hesitation. “I feel like there are still some offerings that I have in terms of a servant’s heart. I want to serve. I want to help the people. And I think I have a heck of a lot of common sense, and that’s what we need today.”
She added, “I’m not so obsessively partisan that I’d let that get in the way of just doing what’s right for the people. So, I would love to.”