CONFIDER

Ex-NYT Editor Wants to Revisit Scandal That Ended Him

The Times has long wanted to move on from the 2020 scandal around Tom Cotton’s op-ed, but the editor who lost his job over it is apparently not ready to do so.

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Former New York Times opinions editor James Bennet apparently can’t move on from the scandal that derailed his career at the paper.

For those with some memory loss, Bennet resigned in 2020 after publishing an op-ed in which Republican Sen. Tom Cotton called upon President Donald Trump to “send in the troops” to quell nationwide protests against police brutality.

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It was a truly dark period for the Times newsroom, with an internal revolt they’ve long hoped to forget. But Bennet hasn’t forgotten.

Confider has learned that he’s been calling around to former Times colleagues, peppering them with questions about that fateful incident for a piece he intends to write for The Economist, where he now serves as a senior editor.

No word yet on the specifics of the article or when it will run.

Bennett and a rep for The New York Times both declined to comment.

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