CNN defamation trial: Jury still dead, trial continues into second day

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – The jury remains out on the a high-stakes defamation suit against CNN as the debate continues Friday morning.

The plaintiff, U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, alleged that CNN defamed him by suggesting that he illegally profited by helping people flee Afghanistan on the “black market” during The Biden administration military withdrawal in 2021. Young believes CNN “ruined his reputation and business” by branding him an illegal profiteer who exploited “desperate Afghans,” during a Nov. 11, 2021, segment that first aired on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”

The jury deliberated for almost six hours. 14th Judicial District Court Judge William S. Henry, who presided over the trial in Bay County, Florida, had previously agreed twice with jurors to stay longer until Thursday night after jurors were asked to return Friday morning. Jurors were given pizza after one of them said they were “hungry and tired”. They were dismissed at 21:18 Chinese time.

Court will resume on Friday at 8:15 a.m. Chinese time.

The trial comes after three-plus years of litigation and a wild, sometimes chaotic, eight-day trial. The court previously ruled that Young “did not act illegally or criminally,” despite what the network reported on air.

CNN’S ALEX MARQUARDT REFUSES TO ADMIT HE MADE MONEY COVERING WAR ZONES: ‘I DON’T GO THERE TO RUN CABLE’

Tepper first teased the 2021 segment at the center of the lawsuit, telling CNN viewers about “desperate Afghans who are still trying to escape a country that is being hunted by people who are demanding a lot of money from them to get out.”

Later in the show, Tupper reminded viewers that the next story is about “desperate Afghans” who are “hunted.”

Once the highly publicized segment began, Tepper said, Marquardt discovered that “Afghans trying to get out of the country are faced with a black market full of promises, demands for exorbitant fees and no guarantees of safety or success.”

Now he threw it to Marquardt, who said:desperate Afghans are exploited” and must pay “exorbitant, often impossible sums” to leave the country.

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

“The costs are far out of reach for most Afghans,” Marquardt told the audience.

CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL: EDITOR WHO SAID STORY ‘LOOKY AS SWISS CHEESE’ BIT ON WITNESS

CNN then revealed that Marquardt allegedly tried to call Young, who did not answer the phone.

“In a text message, he told CNN that it was expected that the sponsors would pay for the Afghans trying to leave,” Marquardt said, adding that Young said the network’s evacuation costs were “very volatile and based on environmental realities “.

Marquardt then said Young “repeatedly refused to break down the cost or say if he was making any money,” before playing a clip of an anonymous sympathetic man who couldn’t afford to evacuate his family from Afghanistan.

Marquardt returned to Young, saying he had received another text message.

“In another post, Zachary Young, who is proposing this evacuation, wrote, ‘Availability is extremely limited and demand is high’ … he goes on to say, ‘Unfortunately, that’s how the economy works,'” Marquardt told the audience.

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

No other people or companies were named besides Young.

CNN DEFAMATION LAWSUIT: PATENT ACCUSES NETWORK OF FILMING CRITICAL PHONE CALL FOR ‘THEATER’

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

Every second of the segment was dissected during the trial, with CNN’s legal team insisting that Young was not central to the story and the plaintiff’s team suggesting that the “black market” subtext essentially ruined Young’s career as a defense contractor , where these wordings were specifically stated as grounds for termination in the contract he signed.

Young’s legal team obtained CNN’s damning internal memos, revealing that employees had repeatedly expressed open hostility toward the Navy veteran. Among those presented to the jury was one who called him a “bag of shit” and an “a-hole”, saying he had a “punched face”.

Marquardt’s own message was often quoted at the trial, in which he told his colleague, “We’re going to take this Zachary Young out…”.

Young also revealed that he had rescued at least 22 women from Afghanistan, but that information was never reported to CNN.

CNN’s senior national security editor, Thomas Lumley, was once convicted in court after internal reports revealed that he was highly skeptical of a “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 DEFAMATION TRIAL: REPORTER PRESSED HIS HARD PURSUIT OF NAVY VETERAN AS DEFENSE CHANGED STOCK

CNN issued an apology on air on March 25, 2022, with anchor Pamela Brown in Tupper’s chair. however, several CNN employees who took the witness stand said they did not believe an apology was necessary, and CNN Vice President Adam Levine testified that the apology was for legal purposes only.

The lawsuit also included Judge Henry repeatedly berating CNNN’s lead attorney, David Axelrod, who is not an on-air expert by the same name. forcing him to apologize Young is on the spot for calling him a “liar” when evidence showed he wasn’t lying about not being able to get a job in his field after the CNN segment aired.

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

The trial will resume on Friday and will be broadcast live Fox News Digital.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM