A Florida judge on Friday sided with U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, who is suing CNN for defamation, on several key counts. High stakes trial It is set to start next month.
Young alleges that CNN defamed him by saying he profited illegally through the “black market” when he helped people flee Afghanistan. of the Biden administration Military withdrawal from the country in 2021. Young believes CNN “destroyed its reputation and business” during a segment on Jack Tapper’s program “The Lead” that year that was shared on social media and repackaged for CNN’s website. .
Judge William Henry denied CNN’s motion for summary judgment, allowing Young to “proceed with his claim for compensatory damages” and ruling that he “did not take money from the Afghans.” .
CNN faces defamation lawsuit against Afghanistan Return story: ‘Evidence of actual malice’
“Despite claiming to have spent ‘three weeks gathering news’ and ‘talking to more than a dozen sources,’ the defendant’s representatives admitted that they had no evidence that Young had committed any criminal or non-criminal acts. Even so, the defendant’s use of the black market is sufficient evidence that a reasonable jury could find that the defendant committed actual malice. Worked together to decide on this matter”, Judge Henry made the decision in court documents Fox News Digital
“The defendant had no evidence of illegality and Young said he was not contracting with or taking money from individuals. Nevertheless, the defendant used his name and image as a poster child. published as a bad actor preying on Afghans,” he continued. “Accordingly, the record evidence may support an inference that the defendant acted knowingly that the summary was false or with reckless disregard for whether or not the summary was false.”
CNN’s legal team had argued that Young’s actions violated the Taliban’s Sharia law, but Judge Henry rejected the notion that he had violated the law.
“To frame these circumstances as a ‘debate’ between the Taliban rulers and the rest of the free world would be tantamount to saying that it is debatable whether the Nazi killing of Jews at Auschwitz was wrong,” Judge Henry wrote.
U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young believes that CNN “destroyed his reputation and business by portraying him as an illegal profiteer” during CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” segment on November 11, 2021. exploited the desperate Afghans”. (CNN/Screenshot)
Judge Henry also called out CNN’s legal team for failing to control how Young operated in the unregulated “black market.”
“The main problem with defendant’s arguments is that they rely on their own proposed definition of the ‘black market,’ which has been a moving target throughout this litigation, and ignore the possibility that ” The black market “represents illegality or criminality,” Judge Henry wrote. .
It wasn’t a total shutout for CNN’s legal team. Judge Henry agreed that Young’s company, Namex Enterprises, Inc., would not be considered for damages.
The CNN segment at the center of the case began with Tapper telling viewers that CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt had found that “Afghans trying to leave the country face a black market filled with promises, exorbitant fees demands, and there is no guarantee of safety or success.”
CNN’s legal team argued that Young inserted himself into the controversy by initially reaching out to CNN reporter Katie Bo Lillis. However, Judge Henry wrote that “a cursory review of this communication does not, at least on its face, show that Young wanted to place himself in the media spotlight regarding Afghanistan. Rather, his initial The chat was a ‘business call’ to see if Lillis needed someone to provide evacuation services.”
“One could say that Marquardt had the narrative he wanted to present (‘bad guys hunt Afghans’). In fact, Marquardt’s initial pitches for the story between October 26-28, 2021 included ‘price Addition,’ included the extortion of desperate Afghans, the ‘shady black market’ and then concluded that ‘what he wanted to examine was extortion or fraud. is.’ Then, fortunately, a door was opened to get information for the piece when Young reached out to Lillis, albeit without revealing the defendant’s reporters’ motivations or whether they were going to use his identity. Henry wrote.
“Once Young stopped cooperating with investigative reporters, Marquardt found his ‘fallen man’ – Young, despite the fact that Young didn’t check all the boxes. Nevertheless, Marquardt had the screen There was “a face” for the bad guys to put on. The defendant had no evidence that Young had done anything illegal, yet he chose a black market Chyron and featured it only in the segment,” he said. by added. “They had information that Young was not working directly with individual Afghans or taking money from them, but that he might be a bad guy hunting Afghans. And collectively they created a narrative. presented that, despite the hole, would intentionally paint Young in the worst light, or at least in a careless manner.”
CNN accused of withholding critical documents needed to determine value before defamation lawsuit
CNN host Jack Tapper and reporter Alex Marquardt during a segment at the center of the defamation lawsuit. (CNN/Screenshot)
Judge Henry also found substantial evidence of actual misconduct and found that Young never took money from the Afghans.
“There are several examples of defendant’s reporters’ statements made in the course of putting together pieces from which a jury could infer either actual malice or implied malice,” he wrote.
The civil trial is scheduled to begin on January 6 in Circuit Court for Bay County, Florida before Judge Henry.
“The court granted plaintiff’s second motion for summary judgment and found that plaintiff did not take money from the Afghans,” Judge Henry ruled.
The court previously ruled that Young “did not commit any criminal or illegal act.”
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