Sarah Palin and the New York Times have considered settling Palin’s long-running defamation case against the newspaper, lawyers for both sides revealed during a court call. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff scheduled a retrial for April 14, 2025, after an appeals court overturned a 2022 verdict favoring the Times, citing flawed judicial rulings.
Palin, a former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential candidate, sued the Times in 2017 over an editorial that falsely linked her to a 2011 Arizona shooting in which six people died and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was wounded. Although the Times corrected the editorial, Palin argued her reputation suffered, seeking damages. The editorial’s author, former Times editor James Bennet, is also named in the lawsuit.
Both sides had initially requested a July 2025 trial to allow for negotiations, with the Times’ lawyer hinting a settlement could make a trial unnecessary. Judge Rakoff suggested a mediator could expedite resolution. The appeals court’s decision to revive the case emphasized errors, including Rakoff’s exclusion of evidence regarding the Times’ alleged “actual malice” and his premature dismissal of the case, which jurors learned of mid-deliberation. Palin’s case could test the high bar set by the 1964 Supreme Court ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan for public figures proving defamation.
