In an Opinion Column Published in Wallstreetbuzz

In an opinion column published in wallstreetbuzz.com, a columnist wrote, "James Jackson, CEO of Blain Investments, now posting an $8 billion write-down, has robbed shareholders blind through his accounting slights of hand. Jackson insists that he has scruples. I don't know about that but if he does have scruples you can bet they belong to somebody else." The columnist:

A) has committed the tort of libel.
B) is protected from defamation liability under the opinion/analysis quasi-privilege.
C) cannot be protected from defamation liability by the opinion/analysis privilege if the statement was published.
D) None of the above