Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is looking into a libel lawsuit against The New York Times, following the paper’s Wednesday editorial peddling a debunked theory claiming she incited the 2011 shooting of Rep. Gabby Giffords.
The New York Times editorial used the attempted assassination of dozens of Republican congressmen Wednesday by a left-wing Bernie Sanders supporter to attack Palin with the baseless theory she incited mentally ill Jared Loughner to shoot Giffords in 2011.
“In 2011, when Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in a supermarket parking lot, grievously wounding Representative Gabby Giffords and killing six people, including a 9-year-old girl, the link to political incitement was clear. Before the shooting, Sarah Palin’s political action committee circulated a map of targeted electoral districts that put Ms. Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized cross hairs,” the editors wrote.
The NYT later acknowledged the baseless accusation and issued a correction, but Palin says she is speaking with her attorneys.
(1/2) @nytopinion – commonsense suggestion by a journalist, am talking to attorneys this AM and exploring options. BTW, wonder.. pic.twitter.com/jACvxwUBZH
— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) June 15, 2017
(2/2) …WHY someone would no longer be in public eye? Think constant libel & slander have anything to do with it?
The Times has a wide berth to criticize Palin as she is a public figure, but several publications have already argued that Palin would be justified in the suit.
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