Sarah Palin’s ability to collect massive damages from the New York Times was dealt a heavy blow by the judge presiding in the case Thursday, as Senior United States District Judge Jed Rakoff ruled that Palin cannot seek punitive damages in the case, Politico reporter Josh Gerstein writes.
Palin sued the times for a 2017 Times editorial that linked her and her PAC to the shooting of former Democratic Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Gifford, who was attacked at a Phoenix appearance after Palin had featured her congressional race on her website by spotlighting it with a target graphic.
Ruling that no reasonable juror could conclude that Times writer James Bennett harbored animus toward Palin, given that the information to which Palin objected was removed from the site immediately and there was no obvious intent to slander Palin. “The evidence frankly that Mr. Bennett harbored ill will towards Ms. Palin is quite modest indeed,” Rakoff said.
Palin is seeking millions in damages for the editorial, which some have claimed led to the targeting of Giffords by a mentally unstable man. The case was an uphill battle from the start given Palin had no evidence that the New York Times was intentionally targeting her when writing the piece.