CNN heads to court for high-stakes defamation trial about Afghanistan segment

CNN heads to court on Monday to kick off a high-stakes defamation trial that could be costly for the network. 

U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young alleges that CNN smeared him by implying he illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan on the "black market" during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021. Young believes CNN "destroyed his reputation and business" by branding him an illegal profiteer" who exploited "desperate Afghans" during a November 11, 2021, segment that first aired on CNN’s "The Lead with Jake Tapper." 

14th Judicial Circuit Court Judge William S. Henry, who will preside over the trial in Bay County, Florida, has ruled that Young "did not act illegally or criminally" despite what the network reported on air. 

JUDGE DECLARES NAVY VETERAN SUING CNN FOR DEFAMATION 'DID NOT ACT CRIMINALLY OR ILLEGALLY'

U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young alleges that CNN smeared him by implying he illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan on the "black market" in 2021.

CNN’s legal team had argued that Young’s actions violated the Taliban’s Sharia law, but Judge Henry slapped down the notion he violated the law as part of a series of pre-trial losses for CNN. As a result, the jury will be instructed to assume Young did nothing against the law. Judge Henry has also declared the court found Young "did not take money from Afghans." 

Jury selection is set to begin on Monday and Young is expected to be the first witness called. 

A lot has changed at CNN since the segment at the center of the trial first aired in November 2021. Former CEO Jeff Zucker, who ran the network at the time, is long gone. His successor, Chris Licht, exited the network after a brief one-year tenure. Former parent company WarnerMedia merged with Discovery to create Warner Bros. Discovery, and Mark Thompson now serves as chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide. The network has seen significant turnover along the way, with high-profile hosts like Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo out the door. 

Two things that remain the same are CNN host Jake Tapper and correspondent Alex Marquardt, who both are still with the network more than three years after airing the report on Young. 

VETERAN SUING CNN SCORES ANOTHER VICTORY, JUDGE RULES EXPERT WITNESS CAN’T CLAIM SEGMENT DIDN’T IMPACT INCOME

Plaintiff Zachary Young’s photo was aired by CNN during the segment in question.  (CNN/Screenshot)

Tapper first teased the 2021 segment at the center of the suit by warning CNN viewers of "desperate Afghans still trying to escape the country being preyed on by folks demanding that they pay up big time to get out."

Later in the show, Tapper reminded viewers that the story on "desperate Afghans" being "preyed upon" was up next. 

Once the much-hyped segment began, Tapper said Marquardt found "Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success."

Tapper tossed to Marquardt, who said "desperate Afghans are being exploited" and need to pay "exorbitant, often impossible amounts" to flee the country. 

Marquardt then singled out Young, putting a picture of his face on the screen and saying his company was asking for $75,000 to transport a vehicle of passengers to Pakistan or $14,500 per person to end up in the United Arab Emirates.

"Prices well beyond the reach of most Afghans," Marquardt told viewers. 

CNN then aired Marquardt allegedly attempting to call Young, who did not answer the phone. 

"In a text message, he told CNN that Afghans trying to leave are expected to have sponsors pay for them," Marquardt said, adding that Young told the network evacuation costs are "highly volatile and based on environmental realities."

 U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young believes CNN "destroyed his reputation and business by branding him an illegal profiteer who exploited desperate Afghans" during a Nov. 11, 2021, segment on CNN’s "The Lead with Jake Tapper."  (CNN/Screenshot)

Marquardt then said Young "repeatedly declined to break down the cost or say if he’s making money," before playing a clip of an anonymous sympathetic man who couldn’t afford to have his family evacuated from Afghanistan.

Marquardt went back to Young, saying he received another text message. 

"In another message, that person offering those evacuations, Zachary Young, he wrote, ‘Availability is extremely limited, and demand is high’… he goes on to say, ‘That’s how economics works, unfortunately,’" Marquardt told viewers.

Tapper responded, "Unfortunately, hmm," before thanking Marquardt for the report. 

No other people or companies were named other than Young.

The segment was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN's website. The Marquardt report was re-aired Nov. 13 on Jim Acosta’s CNN show.

"Nearly three months after the fall of Afghanistan, many Afghans are still desperate to leave. CNN’s Alex Marquardt found a black market ready to take advantage," Acosta told viewers. 

Young’s legal team believes that CNN using the terms "black market," "exploit" and "exorbitant" inaccurately painted him as a bad actor preying on desperate people. 

CNN issued an on-air apology on March 25, 2022, when substitute anchor Pamela Brown was sitting in Tapper’s chair. 

"In November, we ran a story about Afghans desperate to flee the country who faced paying high sums beyond the reach of average Afghans. The story included a lead-in and banner throughout the story that referenced a ‘black market.’ The use of the term ‘black market’ in the story was an error. The story included reporting on Zachary Young," Brown told viewers. 

"We did not intend to suggest that Mr. Young participated in the black market," she continued. "We regret the error, and to Mr. Young we apologize."

Judge Henry ruled in December that the remarks were insufficient, as Florida law states retractions of defamatory material must attempt to mirror how the content was originally distributed. 

"This retraction, correction was not made during the other television shows in which the segment aired… no retraction, correction or any apology was posted on any online article or with any social media posting," Judge Henry said during a pre-trial hearing. 

Internal communications between CNN employees that were revealed during the discovery process have indicated editors were concerned about the initial segment but aired it anyway. Other internal communications revealed CNN employees used profanities and disparaging language when privately discussing Young. 

"Marquardt referred to him as 'f---ing Young' and quipped, 'it’s your funeral, bucko,'" according to a court document. Jurors will also hear that one CNN employee told colleagues that Young has a "punchable face." 

CNN FACES DEFAMATION SUIT OVER AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL STORY: 'EVIDENCE OF ACTUAL MALICE'

CNN host Jake Tapper and correspondent Alex Marquardt during the segment at the center of a defamation lawsuit.  (CNN/Screenshot)

Warner Bros. Discovery was ordered to hand over a bevy of CNN’s financial information in order to determine appropriate punitive damages if Young is victorious. 

CNN remains confident that it will prevail. 

"When all the facts come to light, we are confident we will have a verdict in our favor," a CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

Media Research Center associate editor Nicholas Fondacaro, who has been glued to pre-trial hearings while covering the lawsuit, believes the defamation case is critical because it exposes how CNN approaches stories.

"The case is about CNN’s wanton use of incendiary language that’s meant to evoke emotion over rationality. If it can seep into an organization's culture, it can raise wider questions and concerns about their newsgathering," Fondacaro told Fox News Digital. 

"CNN fames itself as a preeminent truth teller, but here we saw them toss around terms like ‘black market’ and, when pressed, they insisted they meant ‘grey market.’ Journalists should be using precise and accurate language when presenting information in order to prevent inaccurate interpretation by the public," Fondacaro continued. "Instead, we got a report suffused with and driven by reporters’ personal animosity toward their subject."

CNN TURNS OVER INTERNAL DOCUMENTS AS PART OF HIGH-STAKES DEFAMATION SUIT

CNN’s Jim Acosta said "Alex Marquardt found a black market ready to take advantage" of desperate Afghans when he re-aired the segment.   (Screenshot/CNN)

Fondacaro said the case allows the public to "peek behind the veil and see how CNN journalists communicate among themselves" when discussing their subjects. 

Young’s lead counsel, Vel Freedman, said his client is looking forward to the trial. 

"Mr. Young has waited over three years for justice, he is very much looking forward to his day in court," Freedman told Fox News Digital. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Once jury selection concludes, the trial will be streamed live.