Jury finds CNN defamed Navy veteran, awards punitive damages

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – A jury found CNN committed defamation against U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young and is liable for damages Friday after more than eight hours of deliberation.

The jury awarded Young $4 million in lost earnings, $1 in personal damages such as pain and suffering, and said CNN is entitled to pay damages.

The jury will now proceed to phase two of the trial to determine punitive damages. Attorneys on each side will have a chance to present evidence to determine punitive damages.

CNN defamation case: CLOSING ARGUMENTS COMING AS JURY BEGINS TO PICK AGAINST NETWORK

U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young claimed CNN smeared him by suggesting he served illegally as he helped people flee Afghanistan on the “black market” during the Biden administration’s 2021 military withdrawal from the country. (Jessica Costescu)

Young alleged that CNN smeared him by suggesting he illegally profited from 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. ” that took advantage of “desperate Afghans” during a report by Alex Marquardt on November 11, 2021 that first aired on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper”.

The ruling comes after 3-plus years of litigation and a wild, at times chaotic, 8-day trial. 14th Judicial Circuit Court Judge William S. Henry, who presided over the trial in Bay County, Florida, previously ruled that Young “did not act illegally or criminally,” despite what the network reported on air.

After the verdict sent shockwaves through the courtroom, Judge Henry read instructions to the jury as they prepared to set punitive damages.

“You should consider this additional evidence together with the evidence adduced, and you should decide any disputed factual issues by the greater weight of the evidence. The greater the weight of the evidence means that the more persuasive and convincing force and effect of the entire evidence in the case, ” said Judge Henry.

“To determine the amount of punitive damages, if any, must be assessed as punishment against the defendant,” he continued. “This amount would be in addition to the damages previously awarded to you.”

Zachary Young’s lead counsel Vel Freedman urged jurors to convict CNN during a powerful closing statement Thursday. (Jessica Costescu)

Judge Henry instructed jurors to consider “the nature, scope and degree of wrongdoing and the related circumstances”, including “whether the wrongful conduct was motivated solely by undue financial gain”, “the unreasonably dangerous nature of the conduct together with the high likelihood of harm resulting from the conduct was actually known to the defendant,” “whether the defendant at the time … had a specific intent to harm the plaintiff,” and if the conduct “actually harmed the plaintiff.”

Judge Henry also said CNN’s “financial resources” should be taken into account.

“You must not award an amount that would destroy the defendant financially,” Judge Henry said.

“You may, in your discretion, decline to award punitive damages. When determining the amount, if any, to award punitive damages, you may only impose punishment on the defendant for the specific conduct you have concluded caused the plaintiff hardship.” said Judge Henry. “You may not award punitive damages to punish the defendant for anything other than the conduct that injured the plaintiff.”

CNN defamation case: EDITOR WHO SAID STORY WAS ‘FULL OF HOLES LIKE SWISS CHEESE’ GRILLED ON THE WITNESS

CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt was shown allegedly trying to call Zachary Young in the segment at the center of the trial.

Young’s lead attorney, Vel Freedman, urged jurors to convict CNN during a powerful closing statement Thursday.

“It was a calculated attack by CNN on his character that has caused deep and lasting wounds,” Freedman said.

CNN’s Jake 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 persecuted by people who demand they pay a lot to get out.”

Later in the show, Tapper reminded viewers that the story of “desperate Afghans” being “persecuted” was next.

Tapper’s teasers ended up becoming an important part of the trial, as jurors asked to look at them again during the deliberation process.

As 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 for exorbitant fees and no guarantee of safety or success.”

Tapper lashed out at Marquardt, who said “desperate Afghans are being exploited” and have to pay “exorbitant, often impossible sums” to flee the country.

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

“Prices way beyond the reach of most Afghans,” Marquardt told viewers.

CNN then broadcast Marquardt allegedly trying to call Young, who did not pick up 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 “very volatile and based on environmental realities. “

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

CNN DEFAMATION LAWSUIT: SUITS ACCUSE NETWORK OF FAKING CRITICAL PHONE CALLS TO ‘THEATER’

The segment at the heart of the trial first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” (CNN/Screenshot)

CNN host Jake Tapper and correspondent Alex Marquardt during the segment at the center of the libel case. (CNN/Screenshot)

Marquardt went back to Young and said he received another text.

“In another message, the person offering these evacuations, Zachary Young, wrote: ‘Availability is extremely limited and demand is high… he goes on to say, ‘That’s how economics works, unfortunately,'” Marquardt told viewers.

Tapper replied, “Unfortunately, hmm,” before thanking Marquardt for the report.

No other individuals or companies were named other than Young.

The phone call became a point of contention during the trial when the plaintiff suggested Marquardt wasn’t really calling Young, and behind-the-scenes footage of the segment showed Marquardt joking that it was “theatre” to the co-workers. But Marquardt testified that he called the number he believed belonged to Young and dismissed the “theatre” joke as a reference to “Saturday Night Live.”

The segment was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN’s website. The Marquardt report was rebroadcast on November 13 on Jim Acosta’s CNN show and several times on CNN International.

Every second of the segment was picked apart during the trial, with CNN’s legal team insisting that Young was not an essential element of the story and the plaintiff’s team suggesting that the “black market” implication essentially destroyed Young’s career as a defense contractor, where the language was specifically mentioned as grounds for termination in a contract he signed.

Young’s legal team obtained damning internal CNN memos through discovery that repeatedly showed staff expressing overt hostility toward the Navy veteran. Those presented to the jury included one who called him a “s–tbag” and an “a–hole,” one who said he has a “hittable face.”

U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young warned a CNN reporter that his story was “inaccurate” and that he would “seek legal redress” if it was published, according to text messages shown to jurors. (Screenshot/Fox News Digital)

Marquardt’s own message telling a colleague “we’re going to nail this Zachary Young mf—er” was frequently quoted throughout the trial.

At one point, CNN’s senior national security editor Thomas Lumley was grilled in court after internal messages showed he was highly skeptical of the “rather flawed” report. Lumley was called as a witness after internal messages showed he felt the report was “full of holes like Swiss cheese.”

Young, who became emotional on the witness stand as he discussed the segment’s impact on his marriage, also testified that he rescued at least 22 women from Afghanistan, but that information was never reported by CNN.

CNN defamation case: REPORTERS PRESSED ITS HEAVY PROSECUTION OF NAVY VETERAN WHO DEFENDS DOWNLOADED INVOLVEMENT

US Navy veteran Zachary Young tore up on the witness stand last week. (Jessica Costescu)

CNN issued an on-air apology on March 25, 2022, when substitute anchor Pamela Brown sat in Tapper’s chair. But several CNN staffers who took the stand said he did not feel the apology was necessary, and Adam Levine testified that the apology was issued only for legal purposes.

Freedman also reminded jurors that many CNN employees testified that the term “black market” was correct, and others said the network’s on-air apology was unnecessary.

“None of them are sorry. Everyone said they would do it again,” Freedman told jurors Thursday.

The trial also included Judge Henry berating CNN’s lead attorney David Axelrod, who is not the on-air expert of the same name, several times, forcing him to apologize to Young on the spot for calling him a “liar” when evidence proved, that he did it. ‘t lie about failing to earn work in his field on the heels of the CNN segment airing.

Axelrod had insisted a document showing Young still had a security clearance was proof he was able to find work after the CNN segment aired, but it ultimately emerged that the security clearance was dropped in 2022.

This is a developing story, more to come…

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