Plaintiff in CNN defamation case celebrates ‘vindication’

PANAMA CITY, FL – US Navy veteran Zachary Young is celebrating the “vindication” he received after a jury found CNN defamed him, ending an intense two-week legal battle.

“I’m glad it’s over,” Young said Fox News Digital in an interview. “Feeling very, very, very good.”

After deliberating for more than eight hours, the six-person jury ruled that Young should be awarded $4 million in lost wages, $1 million in personal damages such as pain and suffering and said punitive damages were warranted by CNN. But how the second phase of the trial went, Yang’s lawyers and CNN told 14th Judicial District Court Judge William S. Henry they reached an agreement.

“It’s been a long three years and to get the result we wanted, which was a public vindication, is an incredible feeling. And I’m glad it’s over and we don’t have to spend any more years and time arguing about the meaning of the word,” Young said.

Jurors found CNN defamed Navy veteran.

US Navy veteran Zachary Young spoke to Fox News Digital after winning his defamation suit against CNN. (Joseph A. Wolfson/Fox News Digital)

The amount of the settlement was not disclosed, but it came after an expert witness suggested that $150 million was a fair amount to punish CNN.

After a years-long legal battle with CNN, Young tells Fox News Digital that he doesn’t hold “any animosity” toward the network.

“I think it was a good result for both of us,” Young said. “Now I can get on with my life and I couldn’t even imagine what that would look like or feel like for a very long time. I’m still wondering what it’s going to feel like when the dust settles, but in terms of animosity toward CNN, I have none at all.”

“I hope they learn something from this experience,” he continued. “I hope they take it as an opportunity to look in the mirror and realize that, you know, there’s room for change and improvement, and if this is the result that it has on CNN and maybe other media outlets can see it as something positive”.

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CNN settled a defamation case against Young after a jury found the network defamed him. (John Graeme/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Val Friedman, Young’s lead attorney in the defamation suit against CNN, also touted the court victory.

“We were able to clear Zach’s name, get a verdict and then settle so he could avoid lengthy appeals and get on with his life,” Friedman told Fox News Digital. “So as a lawyer, that’s exactly what you want to do.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a CNN spokesperson said: “We remain proud of our reporters and 100% committed to solid, fearless and fair reporting on CNN, although we will certainly learn from this. this case.”

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Young accused CNN of defaming him after it ran a graphic linking him to “black markets” during a segment that first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” (CNN/Screenshot)

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Young accused CNN of defaming him by implying that he made illegal profits by helping people flee Afghanistan on the “black market” during The Biden administration military withdrawal from the country in 2021. Young believed CNN “ruined his reputation and business” by calling him an illegal profiteer who exploited “desperate Afghans” during a November 2021 segment.

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 “sack”, an “a-hole” and said he had a “clear face”.

It also turned out that Alex Marquardta CNN reporter reporting on the air told a colleague, “we’re going to take this Zachary Young out…uh,” a message that was often quoted during the trial.

Fox News’ Brian Flood and Annie McCuen contributed to this report.