PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – The judges remain undecided in the high-stakes defamation lawsuit told CNN, as the deliberation process will last until Friday morning.
The accuser, U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, alleged that CNN smeared him by suggesting he illegally profited from helping people flee Afghanistan on the “black market” during the war. Biden administration military withdrawal from the country in 2021. Young believes CNN has “destroyed his reputation and business” by labeling him as an illegal profiteer” who exploited “desperate Afghans” during a November 11, 2021 segment that first aired on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”
The jurors had been deliberating for almost six hours. Judge William S. Henry of the 14th Judicial Circuit Court, who presided over the trial in Bay County, Florida, had previously negotiated twice with the jury to extend work into Thursday evening after the jury requested to return Friday morning. Jurors were given pizza after one said they became “hangry and tired.” They were discharged at 9:18 PM CT.
The trial resumes at 8:15 a.m. CT on Friday.
The trial comes after more than three years of litigation and a wild, sometimes chaotic eight-day process. The court previously ruled that Young “did not act illegally or criminally” despite what the station reported on air.
CNN’S ALEX MARQUARDT HESITATES TO ADMIT HE MADE MONEY FOR WAR AREAS: ‘I DON’T GO THERE TO GET PAID’
Zachary Young, a US Navy veteran, alleged that CNN smeared him by suggesting he profited illegally when he helped people flee Afghanistan on the “black market” during the Biden administration’s 2021 military withdrawal from the country. (Jessica Costescu)
Tapper first teased the 2021 segment in the middle of the lawsuit, telling CNN viewers about “desperate Afghans still trying to escape the country, besieged by people demanding they pay big bucks to get out.”
Later in the show, Tapper reminded viewers that the story about “desperate Afghans” being “hunted” was next.
Once the much-hyped segment began, Tapper said Marquardt discovered that “Afghans seeking to leave the country face a black market full of promises, demands for exorbitant fees and no guarantee of safety or success.”
Tapper threw to Marquardt, who said, “desperate Afghans are exploited” and have to pay “exorbitant, often impossible sums” to flee the country.
Marquardt then singled out Young, posted a photo of his face on the screen and said his company was charging $75,000 to transport a vehicle with passengers to Pakistan, or $14,500 per person to end up in the United Arab Emirates.
“Prices are far beyond the reach of most Afghans,” Marquardt told viewers.
CNN TAX TRIAL: EDITOR WHO SAID STORY WAS ‘FULL OF HOLES LIKE SWISS CHEESE’ GRILLED ON WITNESS STAND
The segment at the heart of the trial first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” (CNN/screenshot)
CNN then broadcast Marquardt allegedly trying 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 the reality of the environment.”
Marquardt then said Young “repeatedly refused to specify costs or say whether he makes 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 and said he had received another text message.
“In another post, the person offering these evacuations, Zachary Young, wrote, ‘Availability is extremely limited and demand is high’… he goes on to say, ‘That’s how the economy works unfortunately,’” Marquardt told viewers.
Tapper responded, “Unfortunately, hmm,” before thanking Marquardt for the report.
No people or companies other than Young were mentioned.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper and correspondent Alex Marquardt during the segment at the center of the defamation case. (CNN/screenshot)
The segment was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN’s website. The Marquardt Report was rebroadcast on Jim Acosta’s CNN show on November 13 and several times on CNN International.
Every second of the segment was picked apart at trial, with CNN’s legal team insisting that Young was not a major part of the story, and essentially ruining the prosecution team’s suggestion of the “black market” implication Young’s career as a defense contractor, where that language was used. specifically stated as grounds for termination in a contract he signed.
Young’s legal team obtained damning internal reporting from CNN by repeatedly finding staffers expressing open hostility toward the Navy veteran. Among those presented to the jury is one who calls him a “bastard” and one “a hole” who says he has a “punchable face.”
Marquardt’s own message telling a colleague “we’re going to get this Zachary Young mf—er” was often cited during the trial.
Young also testified that he rescued at least 22 women from Afghanistan, but that information was never reported by CNN.
At one point, CNN’s senior national security editor Thomas Lumley was questioned in court after internal reports showed he was deeply skeptical of the “pretty flawed” report. Lumley was called as a witness after internal reports revealed he felt the report was ‘full of holes like Swiss cheese’.
CNN issued an on-air apology on March 25, 2022, when alternate anchor Pamela Brown was in Tapper’s chair. However, several CNN employees who took the witness stand said they did not think the apology was necessary and CNN Vice President Adam Levine testified that the apology was made for legal purposes only.
During the trial, Judge Henry also berated CNNN’s lead attorney, David Axelrod, who is not the on-air expert of the same name, several times and forced him to apologize against Young on the spot for calling him a “liar” when evidence showed he had not lied about not earning work in his field after the CNN segment aired.
Axelrod had insisted that a document showing Young still had a security clearance was proof he could find work after the CNN segment aired, but it ultimately turned out that the security clearance was revoked in 2022.
The trial will resume on Friday and will be broadcast live Fox News digital.
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