NEW YORK Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) appeared in a lower Manhattan courtroom on Thursday to accuse The New York Times of defaming her in a 2017 editorial that linked her political rhetoric to gun violence.

An attorney for Palin delivered opening statements before a jury of nine people, singling out former New York Times opinion editor James Bennet, who ran the newspapers editorial pages until being pushed out in 2020 . The attorney, Shane Vogt, argued that Bennet harbored ill will toward Palin and published information he knew to be false.

He had his narrative, and he stuck to it, Vogt said of Bennet, who was seated in the courtroom behind Palin.

Vogts opening monologue also targeted the Times as an institution, saying its editors are biased against Republicans , and Palin in particular.

They think they can do whatever they want. Theyre The New York Times, Vogt said.

The case, which is being watched by press freedom advocates, was originally scheduled to start last month but got pushed back when Palin, who is proudly unvaccinated, tested positive for COVID-19.

It is ultimately expected to come down to the actual malice standard, an exceptionally high bar that public figures have to meet to successfully sue the press for libel in the U.S. There is a chance, if the case is appealed, that it could go all the way up to the Supreme Court , where two conservative justices have questioned the actual malice standard in recent years.