CNN defamation case: Jury remains undecided as deliberations continue into second day

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – The jurors are still undecided in the high defamation suit against CNN as the debate will continue into Friday morning.

The plaintiff, US Army veteran Zachary Young, alleged that CNN defamed him by suggesting that he made an illegal profit by helping people flee Afghanistan on the “black market” during The Biden administration Demobilized in the country in 2021. Young believes CNN “damaged his reputation and his business” by calling him an illegal profiteer “who preyed on “desperate Afghans” during the November 11, 2021, the episode premiered on CNN “The Lead with Jake Tapper”.

The jurors had been deliberating for about six hours. 14th Judicial Circuit Judge William S. Henry, who presided over the case in Bay County, Florida, had twice asked the court to extend his tenure until Thursday evening after the jury was asked to return Friday morning. The judges were offered pizza after one of them said they were still “hungry and tired.” They were fired at 9:18 pm CT.

The trial will resume at 8:15 am CT on Friday.

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

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Tapper began teasing the 2021 episode in the middle of the suit by telling CNN viewers about “desperate Afghans trying to flee a country that is being manipulated by people who want them to pay big time to get out.”

Later in the show, Tapper reminded viewers that the story of the “desperate Afghans” who were “trapped” would follow.

Once the highly emotional episode began, Tapper said Marquardt found “Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market filled with promises, demands for exorbitant payments, and there is no guarantee of safety or effectiveness.”

Tapper pitched to Marquardt, who said “Desperate Afghans they are being cheated” and need to pay “exorbitant, often impossible” fees to flee the country.

Then Marquardt selected Young, put a picture of his face on the screen and said that his company was asking for $ 75,000 to transport a passenger car to Pakistan or $ 14,500 per person to end up in the United Arab Emirates.

“The prices are beyond the reach of most Afghans,” Marquardt told viewers.

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CNN reported Marquardt was allegedly trying to call Young, who did not answer the phone.

“In a cell phone message, he told CNN that Afghans trying to leave are expected to have sponsors who have paid for them,” Marquardt said, adding that Young told the network's streaming costs “are stable.” They are very specific and dependent on environmental conditions.”

Afterward, Marquardt said Young “repeatedly refused to lower costs or say whether he was making money,” before playing a clip of an anonymous sympathetic man who was not able to get his family out of Afghanistan.

Marquardt got back to Young, saying he got another message.

“In one message, the person giving the move, Zachary Young, wrote, 'Availability is very low, and demand is high'… he goes on to say, 'That's how the economy works, unfortunately,'” Marquardt he told viewers.

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

No other people or companies were named besides Young.

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The segment was shared on social media and re-edited for CNN's website. Marquardt's report was republished Nov. 13 on Jim Acosta's CNN show and multiple times on CNN International.

Every second of the episode was picked over during the trial, with CNN's legal team insisting that Young was not a central part of the story and the plaintiff's team suggesting that it was a “black market”. destroyed Young's career as a defense contractor, where the speech was concerned. specifically mentioned as grounds for termination of the contract he signed.

Young's legal team obtained CNN's damning internal memos by repeatedly discovering employees showing deep hostility toward the Navy. Among those brought before the court include one who called him a “shitbag” “a–hole” who said he had a “crackable face.”

Marquardt's message to a colleague that “we're going to nail Zachary Young mf—er” was often quoted throughout the trial.

Mocha also testified that he rescued at least 22 women from Afghanistan, but that information was not reported by CNN.

At one point, CNN's senior national security editor, Thomas Lumley, was stunned in court after internal emails showed he was deeply suspicious of a “false” report. beautiful”. Lumley was called as a witness after internal memos revealed the report was “full of holes like Swiss cheese.”

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CNN issued an on-air apology on March 25, 2022, when replacement anchor Pamela Brown sat in Tapper's seat. However, many CNN employees those who testified said they did not think an apology was necessary, and CNN vice president Adam Levine testified that the apology was only given for legal reasons.

The case also involved Judge Henry reprimanding CNNN chief counsel David Axelrod, who is not a spiritual expert of the same name, several times. forcing him to apologize to Young immediately for calling him a “liar” when the evidence proved that he had not lied about not being able to find work in his field after airing the CNN segment.

Axelrod had suppressed a document showing Young still had a security clearance as proof he was able to get a job after the CNN segment aired, but it was eventually found out that the security clearance is reduced in 2022.

The trial will continue on Friday and will be announced immediately Fox News Digital.

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