Sarah Palin testifies in defamation trial against New York Times

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin again took the witness stand Thursday and called a New York Times opinion piece about her "devastating."

Palin testified in her defamation lawsuit against the Times over the 2017 editorial that falsely suggested there was a link between her political rhetoric and the 2011 shooting spree that injured former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and killed six people.

"It was devastating to read, again, an accusation -- false accusation -- that I had anything to do with murdering innocent people," Palin testified in front of a jury.

The newspaper says it made an honest mistake. Palin has said she was traumatized.

The editorial initially said there had been a link between the shooting and a map circulated by Palin's political action group, SarahPAC. The story was corrected two days later and the Times admitted there was no link.

Palin sued within two weeks of the article's first publication.

Closing arguments are scheduled for Friday morning. The case was delayed after the former vice presidential candidate tested positive for COVID-19.