Panama City, Florida — US Navy veteran Zachary Young's legal team accused CNN of choosing “theatre over reality” in a desperate attempt to boost ratings, which “destroyed the life of an American patriot” on Tuesday during the first day of the war. A high-stakes defamation trial.
Young believes CNN “destroyed his reputation and business” by describing him as an “illegal profiteer” who took advantage of “desperate Afghans.” Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Court Judge William S. Henry, who is presiding over the trial in Bay County, Florida, argued that Young “did not act illegally or criminally” despite what the network reported on air.
“In August 2021, with the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan under President Biden's ordersThe world was preparing for the Taliban's return to power. “Everyone who watched the news at the time witnessed the chaotic situation that unfolded as millions of people attempted to flee the war-torn country,” attorney Kyle Roche said at the beginning of the plaintiff's opening statement.
“But CNN reporters, sitting at their desks in Washington, D.C., wanted to tell Americans a more exciting story,” Roche continued. “They received information that Zachary Young, a veteran CIA-trained operative, was illegally exploiting desperate Afghans in a black market operation.”
US Navy veteran Zachary Young believes CNN has “destroyed his reputation and business” by describing him as an “illegal profiteer” who takes advantage of “desperate Afghans.” (Jessica Costescu)
CNN's chief lawyer, David Axelrod, responded to Zachary Young's claims, insisting that CNN's reporting was “harsh and fair” but “accurate.” (Jessica Costescu)
Roche told the jury of six women and two men, including alternates, that “there would be nothing wrong” with the CNN report if it were true.
“The problem with CNN? It can't confirm any of the facts,” Roach said.
“I tried to get proof that Zack was accusing the Afghans, but everyone I spoke to either said they had never heard of Zack before, or that Zack only worked for companies like Bloomberg that wanted to pay professionals like Zack to get their employees out of the country.” He continued. “The facts didn't matter. CNN felt they had a juicy story that would increase ratings, and they didn't care about the truth.”
Roach said the emails and behind-the-scenes video footage would corroborate his argument because they “show that CNN enjoyed portraying Zack as the villain” in an attempt to increase interest in the story. Roche then told the jury about internal communications in which CNN employees used profanity and derogatory language when discussing Young privately.
CNN heads to court in high-stakes libel trial over slice of Afghanistan
Attorney Kyle Roche, part of Zachary Young's legal team, gave his opening statement Tuesday. (Jessica Costescu)
The story first aired on November 11, 2021, during CNN's “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”
“Zack's face was shown on television around the world, portraying him as a black market operator preying on desperate Afghans. We are in this courtroom today because CNN chose theater over truth and destroyed the life of an American patriot,” Roach said.
Roche told jurors that Young successfully evacuated 22 women from Afghanistan on behalf of Audible and Bloomberg, two American companies that hired him to ensure specific people exited the country safely.
“You'll hear how this story turned Zach's life upside down, despite warnings from CNN employees that this story had more holes than Swiss cheese,” Roach said, referring to internal communications that revealed some CNN employees were… skeptical about that. The story before it airs.
Roche reminded jurors that the court had already ruled that Young had not violated any laws by receiving money from Afghans. He said this was an opportunity to send a message to all news organizations that “reckless journalism is un-American,” “dangerous,” and has consequences.
He added: “There is simply no excuse for what CNN did, and we will show you that through the evidence.”
CNN faces defamation suit over Afghanistan withdrawal story: 'Evidence of actual malice'
Jurors found that CNN's “The Lead with Jake Tapper” segment was the focus of a high-stakes defamation lawsuit on Tuesday. (CNN/screenshot)
Roche did not use his allotted time to air the clip at the center of the lawsuit, suggesting it will be shown later in trial when plaintiffs have more time to analyze every moment they consider defamatory.
Then it was CNN senior counsel David Axelrod, not the same guy who was CNN's senior commentator, David Axelrod, to make the defense's opening argument. He strongly disputed Roach's claims, insisting that CNN's reporting was “harsh, fair” and “accurate.” He added that this “never suggested that Young had done anything criminal.”
“There's no there,” Axelrod said.
“Every word was accurate, and CNN's reporting was harsh,” Axelrod added. “And that is what the evidence in this case will show.”
Axelrod then showed jurors the main part of the case, criticizing Young's legal team for not showing it himself during opening statements.
CNN is turning over internal documents as part of a high-stakes defamation lawsuit
“It never says that Mr. Young does anything criminal. It never says that Mr. Young does anything criminal. The story is that Mr. Young gets paid a lot of money to get people out of Afghanistan, and he uses his own words. Just his own words,” Axelrod said. To explain that.”
“This is a libel case, and you might wonder, why didn't the plaintiffs show the clip in their presentation…they chose not to show it to you. Because when you actually watch the clip, and you actually look at the article, you'll see that it's not there,” he added. “So, I implore you.” Watch the clip carefully.”
CNN's attorney then played and paused the clip repeatedly to walk jurors through his side of the story, often suggesting that many elements were not even connected to Young.
Young then took the stand as the first witness and spent the rest of the day providing details of his extensive background. It will resume on Wednesday.
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