CNN Suffers Major Blow in Defamation Lawsuit After ‘Embarrassing’ Court Proceedings

The jury in Navy veteran Zachary Young’s lawsuit against CNN found the network guilty of defamation after they aired coverage portraying Young as an “‘illegal profiteer’ who operated in a ‘black market’ when he worked to evacuate Afghans during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal,” according to the Washington Free Beacon. CNN is being ordered to pay at least $5 million in damages after the jury determined that Young is owed $4 million for economic damages and $1 million in emotional damages after he testified that he was no longer able to make any money since the segment aired.

Court proceedings were reportedly embarrassing for CNN as internal messages were exposed revealing CNN staff referring to Young using expletives and saying that Young has a “punchable face.” Another set of messages showed that CNN gave the Navy veteran just two hours to respond to “a detailed list of questions.”

Young told CNN staffers that the deadline was “not realistic,” adding that some of the “facts/assertions are not accurate, and if they are published, I will seek legal damages.”

According to the Free Beacon, “CNN editors and reporters also had serious issues with the article accompanying Marquardt’s segment. One suggested killing the story entirely, saying it was ‘full of holes like Swiss cheese.’ Another, national security reporter Nicole Gaouette, said the prices Young was charging to evacuate Afghans may have been reasonable since the costs associated with those efforts were ‘seriously expensive.’”

The proceedings continued to be embarrassing for CNN as Judge William Henry reprimanded network attorney David Axelrod for insulting Young and his team when claiming to have a document showing Young lied about not having worked since the CNN segment aired, which fell flat as it was found to not actually be a work contract.

In what was apparently directed at Axelrod, Henry issued an order that “whoever makes a personal insult to the other side is going to pay a $100 fine each time it happens,” the Free Beacon reports. Henry also said Axelrod should apologize to Young for calling him a “liar.”

Axelrod reportedly did apologize eventually, as did CNN, however several CNN staffers refused to apologize for the segment.