CNN's High-Profile Defamation Trial Is Underway—and Jurors Appear Open to 10-Figure Payout

PANAMA CITY, Fla.—Jurors for a high-stakes defamation suit against CNN appeared open to forcing the network to dole out a 10-figure payout, the latest setback for the left-wing network as it attempts to avoid a costly—and embarrassing—conclusion to the case.

Plaintiff Zachary Young is suing CNN in a Florida court for $1 billion in damages, accusing the network and anchor Jake Tapper of falsely portraying him as an "illegal profiteer" during America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Young, a Navy veteran, says CNN damaged his reputation and destroyed his contracting company, Nemex Enterprises, in November 2021 by airing false and defamatory claims about his efforts to get Afghans out of the country as the Taliban took control.

Young’s lead attorney, Devin Freedman, asked prospective jurors during the selection process if they would balk at a $1 billion payout if evidence supports it. Only one expressed hesitation. A potential juror who previously worked for an ABC News affiliate said they "absolutely" would be willing to use a punitive damages judgment to send a message to CNN and other news outlets.

Only one potential juror admitted to "regularly" watching CNN, and only two out of roughly forty, or .05 percent, knew who Tapper was. Another said he couldn’t be impartial because he believes "media outlets think they can say whatever they want" and then "pretend to be the victim when they’re called on it." At least six raised their hands when Freedman asked if they believe CNN creates fake news.

Monday’s selection marks the beginning of the trial that’s been over two years in the making. Young filed suit against CNN in June 2022 over a segment on The Lead with Jake Tapper that ran roughly six months earlier.

The November 2021 segment centered on private contractors using an illegal "black market" and charging "exorbitant fees" to evacuate people from Afghanistan as the Taliban regained control during the Biden-Harris administration's chaotic 2021 withdrawal. The segment singled out Young, who was given only two hours to respond when CNN national security correspondent Alex Marquardt reached out for comment.

CNN removed the term "black market" from the online version of the segment and issued an on-air apology acknowledging Young had not broken any laws. But attorneys for the Navy veteran say the segment irreparably damaged his reputation and caused tens of millions of dollars in business losses.

CNN has already faced several setbacks. On Thursday, Judge William Henry ruled in favor of Young, allowing him to use Tapper’s disparagement of Fox News in November 2023 at trial. At the time, Tapper referred to Fox News as a "cancer on the democracy we have" and accused Fox News of abrogating its "grave responsibility" to be "fair and honest" in its news coverage. Young sought to include Tapper’s statements to show that the veteran newsman and CNN were keenly aware of the obligation to present fair and accurate information to viewers.

Henry also ruled that Young’s attorneys could present text messages the veteran says will show that CNN employees had an agenda to smear him as a war profiteer. In one, Marquardt, the lead reporter on the Tapper segment, told colleagues he wanted to "nail this Zachary Young mfucker." In another, CNN senior editor Fuzz Hogan called Young "a shit."

Earlier in November, during a sworn deposition, Tapper refused to answer basic questions about his salary and his show’s finances. The financial information is necessary, Young’s legal team argued in a court filing, to determine "what financial penalty might deter CNN from future misconduct."

The network previously settled with 16-year-old Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann in 2020 for falsely portraying him as the aggressor in a face-to-face standoff with 65-year-old activist Nathan Phillips at the Lincoln Memorial in 2019.

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