Judge: No 'speck' of proof in Palin's libel case against NYT – POLITICO

“In actuality, none of these was erroneous, let alone a basis for granting Palin a new trial,” the judge said. Rakoff wrote that regardless of her post-trial motions, Palin was required at a trial earlier this year to show that an error in a published editorial was motivated by actual malice — a requirement in libel lawsuits involving public figures. “And the striking thing about the trial here was that Palin, for all her earlier assertions, could not in the end introduce even a speck of such evidence,” he said. Lawyers for Palin declined to comment on Rakoff’s ruling. A spokesperson for the Times, Charlie Stadtlander, said in a statement, “We are pleased to see the court’s decision, and remain confident that the judge and jury decided the case fairly and correctly.” The libel lawsuit by Palin, a one-time Republican vice-presidential candidate and former governor of Alaska, centered on the newspaper’s 2017 editorial falsely linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting, which Palin asserted damaged her reputation and career. The Times acknowledged their editorial was inaccurate, but said it quickly corrected the errors they called an “honest mistake” never meant to harm Palin. Rakoff announced in February even before…
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