PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – The legal team of US Navy Veteran Zachary Young accused CNN of choosing “theatre over reality” in an effort to drive ratings, which “destroyed the lives of American Patriots” on Tuesday on the first day of the ceremony . high damage test.
Mocha believes CNN “damaged his reputation and his business” by calling him an “illegal profiteer” who preyed on “desperate Afghans.” 14th Judicial Circuit Court Judge William S. Henry, who presided over the case in Bay County, Florida, ruled that Young “did not act legally or criminally” despite what the internet- what he reported in the air.
“In August 2021, when American troops leave Afghanistan under President Biden's directivesthe world was determined to return to Taliban rule. “Anyone who was watching the news at the time saw the chaotic situation that unfolded as millions of people tried to flee the war-torn country,” attorney Kyle Roche said in opening statements. the accuser.
“But CNN reporters, sitting at their desks in Washington, DC, wanted to tell the American people an even better story,” Roche continued. “They received a letter that Zachary Young, a former CIA-trained operative, was illegally exploiting desperate Afghans for black market work.”
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US Navy SEAL Zachary Young believes CNN “damaged his reputation and his business” by calling him an “illegal profiteer” who preyed on “desperate Afghans.” (Jessica Costescu)
CNN's chief counsel, David Axelrod, denied Zachary Young's allegations, asserting that CNN's reporting was “harsh and biased” but “accurate.” (Jessica Costescu)
Roche told the jury of six women and two men, including others, “there is nothing wrong” when CNN reported that if true.
“CNN's problem? It couldn't confirm any facts,” Roche said.
“Tried to find evidence that Zach was accusing the Afghans, but everyone they spoke to said they had never heard of Zach, or that Zach was only working with organizations like Bloomberg that were wants to pay experts like Zach to get their people out of the country,” he continued. “The facts didn't matter. CNN felt they had a sensational story that would drive ratings, and they didn't care about the truth.”
Roche said the emails and the behind-the-scenes footage would confirm his argument because they “show that CNN was happy to portray Zach as a villain” in order to add interest to the story. Roche then told the jury about internal conversations that CNN employees used profanity and profanity in private conversations about Young.
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Attorney Kyle Roche, part of Zachary Young's legal team, delivered his opening statement on Tuesday. (Jessica Costescu)
This story first aired on November 11, 2021, during CNN's “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”
“Zach's face was plastered across TV screens around the world, painting him as a black marketeer who preyed on desperate Afghans. We are in this courtroom today because CNN went choose theater over reality and ruin the life of an American patriot, “Roche. that said.
Roche told jurors that Young succeeded in deporting 22 women from Afghanistan on behalf of Audible and Bloomberg, the American companies that hired him to ensure the safe passage of certain people out of the country.
“You will hear how this story changed Zach's life, despite warnings from CNN staff that the story has 'more holes than Swiss cheese,'” Roche said, speaking with internal interviews revealing that CNN employees were skeptical of the story before it aired.
Roche reminded the jurors that the jury has already ruled that Young did not break any laws by accepting money from Afghans. He said this is an opportunity to send a message to all media organizations that “irresponsible journalism is not American,” “is dangerous” and has consequences.
“There is no justification for what CNN did, and we will show you that with evidence,” he said.
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Jurors saw an episode of CNN's “The Lead with Jake Tapper” at the center of a serious defamation case Tuesday. (CNN/Screenshot)
Roche did not use his allotted time to present the middle part of the trial, suggesting that it would be shown later in the trial when the plaintiffs had more time to waste some time with the other they consider dirty.
Next up was CNN senior counsel David Axelrod, who is not the same person as CNN senior counsel David Axelrod, to give an opening argument for the defense. He vehemently denied Roche's allegations, insisting that the CNN report was “harsh and biased” and “accurate.” He added that “it never meant that Young did anything criminal.”
“No way,” Axelrod said.
“Every word was accurate, and CNN's reporting was critical,” Axelrod added. “And that's what the evidence is going to show in this case.”
Axelrod then showed jurors the middle part of the trial, criticizing Young's legal team for not showing up during opening statements.
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“It never says that Mr. Young does anything criminal. It never says that Mr. Young does anything criminal. The story says that Mr. Young charges a lot to get people out of Afghanistan, and he's just using his words, to explain that,” Axelrod said.
“This is a dirty case, and you can ask, why the prosecutors did not show the part in their speech… they chose not to show it to you. You will see that there is no, ” he added. “So, please, watch that episode carefully.”
A CNN reporter shot the segment and stopped it repeatedly to walk the judges with his side of the story, often suggesting that many of the segments had nothing to do with Young.
Young then took the stand as the first witness and spent the day detailing his extensive background. It will resume on Wednesday.
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