Nina Totenberg Apologizes for False Alito Retirement Report, Calling It Worst Error in 50 Years
Updated
Updated · The Daily Beast · Jun 30
Nina Totenberg Apologizes for False Alito Retirement Report, Calling It Worst Error in 50 Years
3 articles · Updated · The Daily Beast · Jun 30
Summary
Nina Totenberg, 82, said on NPR’s All Things Considered that the erroneous report of Justice Samuel Alito’s retirement was “entirely” her fault and apologized directly to the 76-year-old justice.
A misheard phrase triggered the mistake: after rushing from the Supreme Court, Totenberg said she heard “retirement announcements” and missed the final “s,” leading her to assume Alito was retiring.
NPR said the story was online only a few minutes before editors replaced it with a note retracting the report and stating that Alito had not announced any retirement.
The episode unfolded during Tuesday’s landmark opinion releases and underscored how quickly an unconfirmed Supreme Court report can spread through Washington newsrooms.