A New York Times editorial page editor told a federal judge Wednesday that he “did not intend” to blame Sarah Palin’s political action committee ads for the 2011 shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords.
James Bennet answered questions in Manhattan Federal Court about his role in putting out a June 14 editorial that moved the former Alaska governor to file a defamation suit against the Times.
The editorial, titled “America’s Lethal Politics,” about gun control, was published after a gunman opened fire on Republican lawmakers in Virginia, wounding U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise.
The article suggested the former vice presidential candidate encouraged “political incitement” before Jared Loughner’s attack in Tuscon, Ariz. that killed six and injured 13.
The paper wrongly stated Palin’s PAC released ads that plunked “Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized cross hairs.”
After the editorial ran, the Times corrected it, making clear those “cross hairs” actually referred to electoral districts and not individual pols.
Bennet told Manhattan Federal Judge Jed Rakoff the piece was written by one of the paper’s editorial writers, but he overhauled it.
He said he used the word “incitement” because he was looking for “a very strong word” — not because he thought the PAC’s ads caused the shooting.
“What I wasn’t trying to say was that there was… a direct causal link between this map and the shooting,” he said. “What I was concerned about was the overall climate of political incitement.”
Bennet also said he did not review the map or past Times stories about the Giffords shooting the day he edited the article.
Rakoff has until the end of August to decide whether Palin’s lawsuit can proceed to a stage that would let her attorneys obtain emails and other potential evidence from the Times.
With News Wire Services
