In Palin v. NY Times Trial, Judge Asks Witness His Own Questions

In Palin v. NY Times Trial, Judge Asks Witness His Own Questions
Members of the press surround former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as she leaves the federal court in New York, on February 3, 2022. Yuki Iwamura/ AFP
Dave Paone
Updated:

NEW YORK—On Feb. 7, at the end of the third morning of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s libel trial against The New York Times, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff began asking his own questions of a witness.

On the stand was Eileen Lepping, a researcher and fact-checker at the newspaper, who worked on the editorial at the heart of the lawsuit.