Courts insist on evidence. Someone should have informed the governor.
Sarah Palin bombs on witness stand in New York Times trial
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s years as a conservative provocateur, TV personality and outspoken critic of the “lamestream media” have ill-prepared her for any venue in which the federal rules of evidence hold sway. In the Manhattan courtroom of Judge Jed S. Rakoff on Thursday, Palin and her bombast bombed.
*snip*
But under questioning from her attorney, Ken Turkel, Palin managed to suggest that the Times’s alleged libels were broader than the editorial, as her lawyers had previously argued. She claimed that there was, in fact, another instance when the Times committed the same mistake.
When Turkel asked about her reaction to the Times editorial, Palin said her closest associates knew that she would be “mortified” and would need to “respond again to what the New York Times had lied about again.”
Counsel for the Times quickly objected to Palin’s claim, seeking to have it stricken from the record.
Rakoff intervened: “What did you mean by ‘again’?”
“They lied before,” responded Palin.
“About this?” asked Rakoff
“My view was the New York Times took a lot of liberties and wasn’t always truthful,” answered Palin. “That’s what I meant by ‘again.’”
*snip*
“I believe it was the New York Times helping to lead the charge that a link was being made between me, Sarah Palin and SarahPAC, and political incitement of actions that would turn into tragedy,” Palin said.
Pressed for specifics, Palin came up short: “The New York Times would write with that linkage between Sarah Palin and inciting political violence. And I don’t have the specific articles, of course, in front of me.”
*snip*
No one who has even casually followed the former governor’s career would be surprised at these specifics-free blasts against the media. Yet this time, Palin chose the wrong venue for such a critique. Adoring audiences at Fox News don’t stop and ask for citations, specifics, supporting evidence. But that’s precisely what happens in a courtroom.
Even Palin’s attempt to show some hockey-mom authenticity backfired. At one point, she referenced the witness stand as the “penalty box.” Perhaps she’d forgotten that it was she who filed this suit.
Sarah Palin bombs on witness stand in New York Times trial
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s years as a conservative provocateur, TV personality and outspoken critic of the “lamestream media” have ill-prepared her for any venue in which the federal rules of evidence hold sway. In the Manhattan courtroom of Judge Jed S. Rakoff on Thursday, Palin and her bombast bombed.
*snip*
But under questioning from her attorney, Ken Turkel, Palin managed to suggest that the Times’s alleged libels were broader than the editorial, as her lawyers had previously argued. She claimed that there was, in fact, another instance when the Times committed the same mistake.
When Turkel asked about her reaction to the Times editorial, Palin said her closest associates knew that she would be “mortified” and would need to “respond again to what the New York Times had lied about again.”
Counsel for the Times quickly objected to Palin’s claim, seeking to have it stricken from the record.
Rakoff intervened: “What did you mean by ‘again’?”
“They lied before,” responded Palin.
“About this?” asked Rakoff
“My view was the New York Times took a lot of liberties and wasn’t always truthful,” answered Palin. “That’s what I meant by ‘again.’”
*snip*
“I believe it was the New York Times helping to lead the charge that a link was being made between me, Sarah Palin and SarahPAC, and political incitement of actions that would turn into tragedy,” Palin said.
Pressed for specifics, Palin came up short: “The New York Times would write with that linkage between Sarah Palin and inciting political violence. And I don’t have the specific articles, of course, in front of me.”
*snip*
No one who has even casually followed the former governor’s career would be surprised at these specifics-free blasts against the media. Yet this time, Palin chose the wrong venue for such a critique. Adoring audiences at Fox News don’t stop and ask for citations, specifics, supporting evidence. But that’s precisely what happens in a courtroom.
Even Palin’s attempt to show some hockey-mom authenticity backfired. At one point, she referenced the witness stand as the “penalty box.” Perhaps she’d forgotten that it was she who filed this suit.
