A Florida jury on Friday found CNN guilty of defaming a Navy veteran who helped Afghans flee their country following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021.
Zachary Young, who is a security consultant, sued the network alleging CNN “destroyed his reputation and business” by branding him an “illegal profiteer” who exploited “desperate Afghans” during a Nov. 11, 2021, report by the network’s senior national security correspondent Alex Marquardt on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” Fox News reported.
The Panama City jury awarded Young $5 million in damages, including $4 million in lost business and $1 million in personal damages.
The jury was also set to decide what punitive damages CNN should also pay, but Fox reported that an undisclosed settlement amount was reached following the jury verdict.
An expert witness had testified at trial that $150 million would be appropriate.
NEW: CNN found liable for $5 million in defamation trial against a United States Navy veteran.
Zachary Young said CNN defamed him as an “illegal profiteer” when they said he charged Afghan evacuees thousands of dollars to leave the country.
The report was first shared on Jake… pic.twitter.com/B0dTZAorxV
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 17, 2025
“Punitive damages are awarded in addition to actual damages in certain circumstances. Punitive damages are considered punishment and are typically awarded at the court’s discretion when the defendant’s behavior is found to be especially harmful,” Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute explained on its website.
Tapper introduced the 2021 segment, which included him saying, “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,” according to Fox.
Was justice served in this case?
Tapper then turned to Marquardt, who confirmed that “desperate Afghans are being exploited” and need to pay “exorbitant, often impossible amounts” to flee the country.
Through pre-trial discovery, Young’s legal team obtained a text message from Marquardt to a CNN co-worker saying, “we’re gonna nail this Zachary Young mf****er,” which was often cited throughout the trial.
However, Marquardt testified Monday at trial, “I wasn’t going after him. I never was going after him,” though he acknowledged the text above was his.
ABC affiliate WMBB reported that Marquardt also conceded at trial that Young “did not act criminally” and that the veteran “never took money directly from Afghans” in the work he was doing in the country.
In his 2021 CNN segment, Marquardt reported, “In a text message, [Young] told CNN that Afghans trying to leave are expected to have sponsors pay for them,” and that Young told the network evacuation costs are “highly volatile and based on environmental realities,” according to Fox.
A picture of Young appeared as Marquardt recounted in his story that the veteran’s company was asking $75,000 to get a vehicle of passengers out of Afghanistan to Pakistan or $14,500 per person to get them all to the United Arab Emirates.
Marquardt defended his reporting at trial saying that he was looking into whether Young illegally profited or committed fraud or extortion but did not find any evidence of it and therefore did not report it.
Fox pointed out that Young testified at trial that he rescued at least 22 Afghan women, but CNN never reported that about his work.
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