CNN's Alex Marquardt hesitant to admit he made money covering war zones: 'I don't go there to get paid'
PANAMA CITY, Fla. – CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt hesitated to admit in court Monday he previously made money while covering war zones in an attempt to distance himself from Navy veteran Zachary Young, the plaintiff in the high-stakes defamation trial against his network.
Young alleges CNN smeared him in a November 2021 report that first aired on "The Lead with Jake Tapper," suggesting he illegally profited off desperate people trying to flee Afghanistan following the Biden administration's military withdrawal, implying he was involved in "black market" dealings and ruining his professional reputation as a result.
Marquardt, the correspondent who led the report, repeatedly went after Young over what he called the "exorbitant" prices he would charge prospective clients in need of an evacuation in the Taliban-controlled country. Marquardt also criticized Young, suggesting that people shouldn't make money from war in general.
However, Young's lead counsel, Vel Freedman, turned the tables on Marquardt over his own enrichment when he previously served as a correspondent overseas.
"You don't report in war zones for free, do you?" Freedman asked.
"Whether I go to a war zone or not, I'm still going to get my salary," Marquardt responded. "I could do all kinds of different journalism that would not risk my life, and I would still make a salary."
"Sir, you go to war zones and report, and you are paid for that service, correct?" Freedman followed.
"Not always correct," Marquardt pushed back.
"So you go to war zones for free? You report on war zones for free," Freedman reacted.
"When was the last time I was in a war zone, sir?" Marquardt sidestepped the question.
Freedman called out the CNN correspondent for refusing to answer "a very simple question."
"You go to war zones on behalf of CNN and other news organizations, and you were paid for that service, correct?" Freedman continued.
"I don't go there to get paid. I go there to cover the stories," Marquardt responded.
"Why can't you just admit it, sir?" Freedman exclaimed. "It's so easy to admit! You're paid as a journalist, correct?"
"Correct," Marquardt answered.
"And you go to war zones and you report, correct?" Freedman asked.
"Sometimes," Marquardt said.
"Sir, you go to war zones and you report, correct?" Freedman doubled down.
"Not in over a year," Marquardt pushed back.
"Ok, I'll say it like you," Freedman replied. "Sir, you sometimes go to war zones and report, correct?"
"Correct," Marquardt said.
"And when those sometimes you're in a war zone, you're paid for that time, aren't you?" Freedman then asked.
"Yes," Marquardt said.
"So you're paid for your time in war zones, but God forbid he should be, right?" Freedman asked as he pointed over to Young, his client.
"There's a very big difference," Marquardt insisted.
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Freedman went on to grill Marquardt over his accusations against Young, who he said "exploited" desperate people trying to rescue loved ones in Afghanistan.
"Did you exploit the situation of war to report?" Freedman asked.
"No," Marquardt answered.
"Did CNN exploit the situation of war by running ads while it reports on war?" Freedman then pressed, to which Marquardt replied "No."
"Let me ask it this way, did Mr. Young exploit the situation of war by evacuating people from it?" Freedman followed.
"If he was making money, yes," Marquardt said.
"Only CNN is allowed to make money off of war? Only journalists are allowed to make money off of war?" Freedman asked.
"I don't believe CNN's making money – journalists don't make money off of war," Marquardt said.
Freedman then asked whether Marquardt thought someone like Young who helped evacuate 22 women and a baby from Afghanistan is a hero "even if they are paid to do it," to which Marquardt replied "I would need to know more about the circumstances."
The trial resumed Tuesday and is being streamed live on Fox News Digital.