CNN defamed Navy veteran, jury finds

On Friday, a Florida jury found CNN liable for defamation against Navy veteran Zachary Young.

Young's lawsuit against the network cited a November 2021 report by CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt.

'These are injuries that transcend monetary loss.'

"In our world today, the U.S. government, the Biden administration says that as of last week it had assisted in the departure of at least 377 U.S. citizens and 279 lawful permanent residents of the U.S. from Afghanistan since August 31," the segment stated. "Still, many Afghans, Afghans who desperately want to flee Taliban rule and Afghans who say their lives are at stake, they remain behind. As CNN's Alex Marquardt has discovered, 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."

Marquardt claimed that Young was one of the individuals exploiting the "desperate Afghans."

The segment ran on 11 CNN shows, including Jake Tapper's and Jim Acosta's.

CNN argued that sections of the report contained opinions.

“At the time of its reporting, CNN knew little about Young’s financials, his model, or whether he’d successfully evacuated anyone because whenever anyone [including CNN] asked Young to explain his business, he obfuscated, behaved unprofessionally, lied, and hid,” it stated.

"Clients and colleagues in the national security community simply cannot associate with anyone involved in 'black markets' or 'exploitation,'" Young's lawsuit argued. "Thus, despite their falsity, CNN's defamatory comments have rendered Young permanently unemployable in the career he has trained his whole life for, have resulted in Young's income plunging to nothing, and have caused Young to suffer millions of dollars in lost income."

Devin Freedman, Young's lawyer, contended that his client's "ability to walk into a room with pride and being seen as a professional with integrity has been stripped away."

"These are injuries that transcend monetary loss. They pierce the soul of who he is, who he was," he added.

On Friday, six Florida jurors determined that Young was entitled to $4 million in economic damages, $1 million in emotional damages, and additional punitive damages, which have not yet been determined.

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