CNN defamation trial: Jury yet to make a decision, deliberations enter second day

Panama City, Florida – The jury has yet to make a decision in a high-stakes defamation lawsuit against CNN, with deliberations continuing into Friday morning.

The plaintiff is U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, who claims that CNN defamed him by suggesting that he illegally profited from helping people flee Afghanistan through the “black market” during the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. CNN “ruined his reputation and damaged his reputation.”

Jurors deliberated for nearly six hours. Judge William S. Henry of the 14th Circuit Court, who is presiding over the trial in Bay County, Florida, had twice previously consulted with the jury and continued working into Thursday evening after the jury asked to return Friday morning. . Jurors were given pizza after one of them said they were “hungry and tired.” They were dismissed at 9:18 PM Central Time.

The trial will resume at 8:15 a.m. (Central Time) on Friday.

The trial comes after more than three years of litigation and eight days of frantic and sometimes chaotic trial. Despite online reports on the incident, a court previously ruled that Yang “did not commit any illegal or criminal conduct.”

CNN’s Alex MARQUARDT hesitates to admit he makes money covering war zones: ‘I don’t go there to get paid’

Tapper first teased the 2021 portion of the lawsuit, telling CNN viewers that “desperate Afghans are still trying to flee this country, and they are being preyed upon by people demanding large sums of money to leave.”

Later in the show, Tapper reminded viewers that the story of “desperate Afghans” being “plundered” would follow.

Once the much-hyped segment began, Tapper said, Marquardt discovered that “Afghans trying to leave the country faced a black market full of promises, exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success.”

Tapper referred questions to Marquardt, who said “desperate Afghans are being exploited” and need to pay “exorbitant and often impossible sums” to flee the country.

Marquardt then named Young, put a photo of his face on the screen, and said his company was demanding $75,000 to transport a car’s passengers to Pakistan, or $14,500 each to ultimately reach Arabia. United Emirates.

“The price is well beyond the reach of most Afghans,” Marquardt told the audience.

CNN libel trial: Editor says story ‘full of holes like Swiss cheese’ grilled on witness stand

The heart of the trial was first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” (CNN/Screenshot)

CNN later aired a report that Marquardt allegedly tried to call Yang, but Yang did not answer the call.

“He told CNN in a text message that Afghans trying to leave were expected to be paid by sponsors,” Marquardt said, adding that Young told the network that evacuation costs were “highly volatile and based on environmental realities.” .

Marquardt then said Young “repeatedly refused to detail the costs or reveal whether he made money,” before playing a clip of an anonymous sympathizer who couldn’t afford to evacuate his family from Afghanistan.

Marquardt returned to Young and said he had received another text message.

“In another message, Zachary Young, who provides evacuation services, wrote that ‘Availability is extremely limited and demand is high’… He went on to say, ‘Unfortunately, that’s the economics of How it works,'” Marquardt told the audience.

Tapper responded, “Unfortunately, yeah,” before thanking Marquardt for the report.

No other people or companies were named except Young.

CNN defamation trial: Plaintiff accuses CNN of faking ‘theatre’ of important calls

CNN host Jake Tapper and reporter Alex Marquardt go live at the center of the defamation lawsuit. (CNN/Screenshot)

The clip was shared on social media and repackaged on the CNN website. Marquardt’s report was replayed on Jim Acosta’s CNN show on November 13 and aired multiple times on CNN International.

During the trial, every second of the clip was picked apart, with CNN’s legal team insisting that Yang was not a major element of the story, and the plaintiffs’ team arguing that the “black market” implications essentially ruined Yang’s career as a defense contractor. This language was specifically mentioned in the contract he signed as grounds for termination.

Yang’s legal team obtained shocking internal information from CNN through repeated revelations of staffers expressing blatant hostility toward the Navy veteran. One person who submitted to the jury called him a “bastard” and another said he had a “punchable face.”

Throughout the trial, Marquardt himself was often quoted as saying to colleagues, “We’re going to get this Zachary Young–ugh.”

Young also testified that he rescued at least 22 women from Afghanistan, but CNN never reported this information.

Thomas Lumley, CNN’s senior national security editor, was grilled in court at one point after internal sources revealed he was highly skeptical of the “rather flawed” report. Lumley was called as a witness after internal sources revealed he believed the report was “full of holes like Swiss cheese.”

CNN libel trial: Reporters aggressively go after Navy veterans as Defense Department downplays involvement

CNN (CNN) apologized live on March 25, 2022, with backup anchor Pamela Brown sitting in Tapper’s chair. However, several CNN staffers who testified said they did not believe an apology was necessary, and CNN Vice President Adam Levine testified that the apology was only for legal purposes.

During the trial, Judge Henry also repeatedly scolded CNN chief lawyer David Axelrod (who was not the live broadcast expert of the same name) and forced him to apologize to Yang on the spot because the evidence proved that he did not lie, Call him a “liar”.

Axelrod insisted that a document showing that Young still had a security clearance would prove that he was able to find a job after the CNN show aired, but the end result was that the security clearance was revoked in 2022.

The trial will resume on Friday and will be broadcast live fox news numbers.

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