When TPM asked Andrew Breitbart last July if the release of an edited video of Shirley Sherrod was timed to impact a Senate vote on restitution for black farmers, he said no. Now that she’s suing him for defamation, he’s making that restitution the issue.Sherrod made good on her threat to sue Breitbart over the video in a complaint filed in D.C. Superior Court on Friday. The lawsuit alleges that Breitbart was “angered by the NAACP’s claims of racism against the Tea Party” and used Sherrod “to further his own agenda of counter-attacking the NAACP with claims of racism.” It further states that the video ignited a “media firestorm” and resulted in her forced resignation from the USDA — before the truth came out and prompted apologies from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=114705