What To Know About CNN’s Defamation Case and Verdict

On January 17, CNN announced that he had settled a defamation case with Navy veteran and security consultant Zachary Young. The trial took place in a Florida court during the first two weeks of January and ended with a jury finding the network liable and awarding Young $5 million in damages.

CNN joins in Fox News, newsmaxand ABC News in choosing to settle a high-profile defamation case. Unlike those other networks, however, CNN allowed the process to proceed before settling definitively.

Here’s TVNewser’s breakdown of the closely watched process.

Why did Young take CNN to court?

In August 2021, the United States army left Afghanistan after a stay of almost two decades in that country. Amidst the chaos of the withdrawal, the Afghan locals who had assisted the American troops were looking for a way out of the country, fearing persecution by the Taliban.

On November 11, 2021, CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper presented a report from Alex Marquardt which revealed how some American businessmen were charging Afghan nationals up to $10,000 in fees for safe passage to other nations. Young’s face was shown during the report above a lower third that detailed the exorbitant costs of the “black market” that existed in that country during that period. It was the only private contractor named in the CNN piece.

But Young said his business never took payments from individuals in Afghanistan. Instead, he worked with sponsorships from prominent corporate clients, including Audible and Bloomberg. The online version of the CNN story notably did not directly or indirectly link Young to the black market for contraband.

After the story aired, Young and his legal team threatened CNN with legal action if the network does not offer a fix. Although CNN aired an apology to Young in March 2022, this was deemed insufficient, and a lawsuit was filed in September.

What happened during the process?

The trial began on January 6 in a courtroom in Panama City, FL, presided over by the judge William Henry of the 14th Judicial Circuit.

In his opening statement, CNN’s lead attorney, David Axelrod—no relationship with the analyst on the air– described the network’s report as “tough, fair and accurate.”

Ma Kyle Rocheone of Young’s attorneys responded in his opening statement, saying, “During the night, [Young] he went from patriot to criminal, and his career as a private intelligence and security consultant did not resume. CNN’s reckless journalism stole Zach’s income and reputation.

Veil FreedmanYoung’s other lawyer added that CNN willfully harmed his client, costing him millions of dollars and causing irreparable personal harm.