In front of a A high-stakes defamation trialCNN is now accused of misleading the court regarding documents related to her net worth.
US Navy veteran Zachary Young alleges that CNN defamed his security consulting company, Nemex Enterprises Inc., by implying that it illegally profited from helping people flee Afghanistan during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021. He is now suing CNN for allegedly “destroying his reputation and his business” during a segment that year on Jake Tapper's show “The Lead.”
In September, Florida Judge William Henry ordered CNN to comply with the subpoena Provide additional financial information Which the cable network provided to its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
Although CNN claimed that it would show these files, Documents exclusively obtained by Newsbusters It found that “Plaintiffs knew that CNN never intended to produce documents detailing assets and liabilities (because they did not exist).”
A civil trial involving a defamation suit against CNN is scheduled for next month. (CNN/screenshot)
Plaintiffs in CNN's high-stakes defamation lawsuit want to question Jake Tapper again
“Not only did CNN and WBD fail to provide any of the promised documents outlining assets and liabilities, but the CNN representative also failed to provide any information about the net worth figure that CNN provided (but denied responsibility for) in its questioning response. In fact, the CNN corporate representative did not provide “No information about net worth at all, although net worth was one of the topics noted – indeed the main topic.”
The documents also found that the reason CNN could not provide financial information was because its “financial position cannot be separated – at all – from the financial position of its parent company” Warner Bros. Discovery”.
Young's legal team is now asking the court to enter an order requiring the use of Warner Bros.' financial data. Discovery to determine potential punitive damages and prohibit CNN from presenting any evidence or argument based on her net worth.
A civil trial is scheduled to begin on January 6, 2025, before Judge William Henry in the Circuit Court of Bay County, Florida.
Fox News Digital She reached out to CNN and Warner Bros. Discovery to comment.
CNN has been accused of withholding financial information despite previously claiming it would be done under a court order. (Elijah Novelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The CNN clip at the center of the lawsuit, which was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN's website, begins with Tapper telling viewers that CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt has discovered that “Afghans trying to get out of the country are facing a black market full of promises.” “He demands exorbitant fees, and there is no guarantee of safety or success.”
Tapper turned to Marquardt, who said that “desperate Afghans are being exploited” and had to pay “exorbitant, often impossible, sums” to flee the country. Marquardt then pointed to Young, put a picture of his face on the screen, and said his company was asking $75,000 to transport the passenger van to Pakistan for $14,500 per person, ending up in the United Arab Emirates.
“The prices are out of reach for most Afghans,” Marquardt told viewers.
A US Navy veteran who sued CNN scores major legal victories ahead of a high-stakes defamation trial
Earlier this year, Florida's 1st District Court of Appeal judges ruled that Young presented the evidence.Of actual malice, outright maliceThe level of conduct is sufficiently obscene” to warrant prosecution.
US Navy veteran Zachary Young believes CNN “destroyed his reputation and business by describing him as an illegal profiteer who took advantage of desperate Afghans” during a November 11, 2021 segment on CNN's “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” (CNN/screenshot)
The judges wrote: “Young presented CNN messages and emails that showed an internal concern about the completeness and veracity of reporting — the story is a ‘mess,’ ‘incomplete,’ not ‘digitally recreated,’ ‘the story is 80% emotion, fuzzy truth. 20% off,” and “full of holes like Swiss cheese,” but the network aired it anyway.
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Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
