CNN Editor Blames Jake Tapper For Network's $1 Billion Defamation Suit

PANAMA CITY, Fla.—A senior CNN journalist blamed Jake Tapper for accusing a Navy veteran of operating in an illegal "black market"—phrasing that led to the $1 billion defamation suit the left-wing network now faces.

The veteran, Zachary Young, is suing CNN, alleging that a November 2021 segment on The Lead with Jake Tapper irreparably harmed his reputation and destroyed his company, Nemex Enterprises. The report singled out Young in his work to evacuate Afghans trying to flee their home country as the Taliban took over and portrayed the veteran as an "illegal profiteer" operating in a "black market."

CNN senior editor Fuzz Hogan, who edited the written portion of the report, testified that it wasn’t his intention to describe Young as operating in a "black market."

"The text I approved did not include the phrase 'black market,’" Hogan said during court proceedings on Friday. "The banner and Jake Tapper's lead-in did that."

He also said he didn’t believe a "correction was necessary." CNN later removed the term "black market" from its online version and issued an apology. But anchor Pamela Brown delivered that apology since Tapper was out that day.

CNN has repeatedly faced setbacks in the case. Judge William Henry last week ruled that Young could use at trial anchor Jake Tapper’s disparaging comments about Fox News after its $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. Jurors during Monday’s selection process appeared open to forcing CNN to cough up a 10-figure payout to Young.

Jurors were also shown an internal CNN message in which Hogan described Young as "a shit." In another, he said the story was "3/4 of the way completed."

Jury is shown messages between Hogan and Elizabeth Wolfe," where he called Young "a shit." pic.twitter.com/YRbrGU2ofl

— Jessica Costescu (@JessicaCostescu) January 10, 2025

An internal email, meanwhile, shows that CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt’s script for the segment was approved the day before it aired. But Marquardt didn’t reach out to Young with a detailed list of questions until the next day, giving him only two hours to respond.

In earlier court proceedings, the jury was shown Signal messages from Young telling Marquardt, "That's definitely not a realistic deadline." Marquardt’s questions included an inquiry about Young’s ties to the CIA. Young revealed Thursday that he was an operative with the agency and that answering that question alone would have taken more than two hours.

"In any case, I can tell you for sure, some of your facts/assertions are not accurate, and if they are published, I will seek legal damages," Young added in his Signal message to Marquardt.

Expert testimony heard Friday could also prove damaging for CNN.

Retired Army Gen. James Young (no relation to the plaintiff) said he wouldn’t hire Zachary Young after the CNN segment aired, saying it created too much "risk" and could harm the reputation of anyone who hires him.

"I would see someone like this as way too risky for our operation to be associated with," said Gen. Young, who served in the Army for 36 years. He also said Young was charging reasonable prices.

"We couldn't have done what we did for free," he said. "There isn't a market comparison" to the chaos that unfolded during the Afghanistan withdrawal.

In fact, Richard Bolko, a Florida-based accountant, testified that Young could have charged even more for the evacuations. He calculated that the CNN segment cost Young $21.3 million in income—an amount he called a "conservative" estimate.

CNN’s lead attorney, David Axelrod, grilled Bolko on his methodology, arguing that his calculation was inflated. The technical details seemed to confuse the jury. Some appeared interested, but others looked bored, with one looking at the ceiling.

As Friday wrapped, Axelrod moved to strike Bolko’s entire testimony, but the judge denied the request.

Earlier, a clinical psychologist, Dr. John Vincent, testified Young "appeared to be functioning effectively" before the CNN segment aired. But Young "deteriorated rather rapidly" because of the impact of the report. Vincent diagnosed him with two different depressive disorders and said he had "panic-related behavior."

"When you are deprived of your opportunity to earn a living," Vincent testified, "the trauma of that just persists."

"He was really freaking out," he continued. "I think he's been devastated by this experience … He clearly still struggles to this very day."

On Thursday, Axelrod made an explosive charge suggesting that a contract showed Young accepted a job in December 2021. The plaintiff testified earlier that he hadn’t worked or made money since the CNN segment aired a month earlier.

But Young explained that the document was simply a form he needed to sign to maintain his security clearance. Gen. Young corroborated that account Friday, testifying that he had a similar agreement with a security clearance holding company.

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