A Florida jury on Friday morning put itself into position to deliver money justice to a U.S. Navy veteran who was defamed by CNN during a broadcast.
lawandcrime.com
‘Stood up to fake news’: CNN liable for defaming Navy veteran to the tune of $5 million — and settled before the jury could decide punitive damages
COLIN KALMBACHERJan 17th, 2025, 12:37 pm
Updated Jan 17th, 2025, 4:23 pm
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Inset: Zachary Young in court on the first day of his defamation case against CNN (The Washington Free Beacon/Pool photos). Background: “The Lead with Jake Tapper” being played during Tuesday’s proceedings (The Washington Free Beacon/Pool photos).
A Florida jury
on Friday morning put itself into position to deliver money justice to a U.S. Navy veteran who was defamed by
CNN during a broadcast about his private business efforts to evacuate people from Afghanistan as the war-torn country was overrun by the Taliban.
A unanimous six-person jury in Bay County determined the cable news network was liable for defamation stemming from a November 2021 segment on “The Lead with Jake Tapper” in which journalist Alex Marquardt painted Zachary Young as an “illegal profiteer” exploiting “desperate Afghans” with “exorbitant” fees amid the fallout of President Joe Biden’s chaotic withdrawal, according to
the language of the lawsuit.
Young maintained CNN’s broadcast effectively tarred him as a scofflaw and ruined his business, making it nearly impossible for him to work because of the severe damage to his reputation that ensued.
Jurors agreed. On the first count, defamation per se, the jury ruled in Young’s favor. On the second count of defamation by implication, the Sunshine State residents also ruled for Young.
In sum, jurors awarded Young $4 million for lost employment and $1 million for pain and suffering, and said that CNN should also be subject to punitive damages. However, at around 4:15 p.m. on Friday, as the jurors were presumably deliberating that amount, Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Court Judge William Henry announced that the parties had come to an agreement, and told the jurors their job was done.
Closing arguments took up several hours for each party before the jury was tasked with deliberations on Thursday.
More Law&Crime coverage: ‘You can think whatever you want’: Tense exchange between Jake Tapper and Navy veteran’s lawyer during deposition shown to jurors in CNN defamation trial
The plaintiff’s side brought a theme all the way back home during their penultimate presentation in the Emerald Coast adjacent courtroom.
During
opening statements, Young’s lead attorney Devin “Vel” Freedman played up the notion that CNN was aware the broadcast in question was a “hit piece” it knew to be “theater” when it aired.
The attorney reprised the claim in dramatic fashion — repeatedly playing a minimalistic clip of Marquardt raising his hands and arms in a theatrical gesture while saying the word “theater” and laughing.
“He admitted it,” Freedman said. “You rarely get smoking gun documents like this in a legal case. You just rarely do.”
More Law&Crime coverage: ‘Yeah, he’s a s–––’: Internal CNN communications showcased in defamation trial between Navy veteran and cable news network as senior employee takes the stand
On the stand, the plaintiff’s attorney reminded jurors, the CNN journalist explained away his behavior by saying he was a fan of a Jon Lovitz character on “Saturday Night Live” who used the same catchphrase while making a similar gesture. Under pressure, however, Marquardt was reminded that the Lovitz catchphrase is actually: “Acting.”
“Did you see his face when that happened?” Freedman asked the jury. “The veneer shattered. He was a liar. He was engaging in theater. He was caught in it. He lied about it. He was caught in it again. CNN knew the story wasn’t true. They knew they had no facts to support it — but they hated Zach — so they orchestrated theater. They set him up and they took him down.”
Young’s lawyer said they were able to confirm 1.6 million people viewed the broadcast, and that their high range estimates suggest some 2.7 people might have seen it. Those numbers, the plaintiff’s attorney said, dwarfed that of viewers who saw the correction.
“The correction was seen by 942,000 people,” Freedman said. “But let’s be honest, the correction didn’t do anything. Doesn’t matter. The man can’t get hired. It doesn’t matter how many people saw it. They issued a correction because they were trying to get out of a lawsuit.”
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