CNN defamation trial: Jury remains hung as deliberation enters second day

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – The juries remain undecided in the High-stakes defamation suit against CNN as deliberation will continue until Friday morning.

The plaintiff, U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, alleged that CNN defamed him by implying that he illegally profited from helping people flee Afghanistan on the “black market” during the The Biden administration military withdrawal from the country in 2021. Young believes CNN “destroyed his reputation and business” by calling him an “illegal profiteer” who exploited “desperate Afghans” during a November 11, 2021 segment that first aired on “The CNN’s “Lead with Jake Tapper.”

Jurors had been deliberating for nearly six hours. 14th Judicial Circuit Court Judge William S. Henry, who presided over the trial in Bay County, Florida, had previously negotiated with the jury twice to continue working longer into Thursday night, after the jury He had requested to return on Friday morning. Jurors were given pizza after one of them said they were “tired and hungry.” They were fired at 9:18 pm CT.

The trial will resume at 8:15 a.m. CT on Friday.

The trial comes after more than three years of litigation and a wild, sometimes chaotic, eight-day trial. The court previously ruled that Young “did not act illegally or criminally” despite what the network reported on air.

CNN’S ALEX MARQUARDT HESITATE TO ADMIT HE MADE MONEY COVERING WAR ZONES: ‘I’M NOT GOING THERE TO GET PAID’

Tapper first mocked the 2021 segment at the center of the lawsuit by telling CNN viewers that “desperate Afghans still trying to escape the country are attacked by people who demand they pay a lot to get out.”

Later in the show, Tapper reminded viewers that the story about “desperate Afghans” being “taken advantage of” was next.

Once the much-publicized segment began, Tapper said Marquardt discovered that “Afghans trying to leave the country faced a black market full of promises, demands for exorbitant fees and no guarantee of safety or success.”

Tapper threw it to Marquardt, who said: “desperate afghans are being exploited” and must pay “exorbitant, often impossible amounts” to flee the country.

Marquardt then singled out Young, put a photo of his face on the screen and said his company was asking $75,000 to transport a passenger vehicle to Pakistan or $14,500 per person to end up in the United Arab Emirates.

“The prices are far beyond the reach of most Afghans,” Marquardt told viewers.

CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL: THE EDITOR WHO SAID THE STORY WAS ‘FULL OF HOLES LIKE SWISS CHEESE’ GRILLED IN THE WITNESS STAND

CNN then broadcast that Marquardt was allegedly trying to call Young, who did not answer the phone.

“In a text message, he told CNN that Afghans trying to leave are expected to have sponsors to pay for them,” Marquardt said, adding that Young told the network that evacuation costs are “highly volatile and are based on environmental realities.

Marquardt then said Young “repeatedly refused to break down the cost or say if he’s making money,” before playing a clip of an anonymous, sympathetic man who couldn’t afford to have his family evacuated from Afghanistan.

Marquardt returned to Young and told him he received another text message.

“In another message, the person offering those evacuations, Zachary Young, wrote, ‘Availability is extremely limited and demand is high’ … and goes on to say, ‘Unfortunately, that’s how the economy works,'” Marquardt said. to the spectators.

Tapper responded, “Unfortunately, um,” before thanking Marquardt for the report.

No other person or company was named other than Young.

CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL: PLAINTIFF ACCUSES NETWORK OF FORGING A PHONE CALL CRITICAL TO ‘THEATRE’

The segment was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN’s website. Marquardt’s report was re-aired on November 13 on Jim Acosta’s CNN show and several times on CNN International.

Every second of the segment was picked apart during the trial, with CNN’s legal team insisting that Young was not an important element of the story and the plaintiff’s team suggesting that the “black market” involvement essentially ruined Young’s career as a contractor. of defense, where that language was specifically mentioned as a reason for termination in a contract he signed.

Young’s legal team obtained damning internal messages from CNN through discoveries that repeatedly showed employees expressing open hostility toward the Navy veteran. Among those presented to the jury is one who calls him “shit” and another who says he has a “face you can punch.”

Marquardt’s own message telling a colleague “let’s get this Zachary Young mf—er” was quoted often throughout the trial.

Young also testified that he rescued at least 22 women from Afghanistan, but CNN never reported that information.

At one point, CNN’s senior national security editor, Thomas Lumley, was questioned in court after internal messages showed he was highly skeptical of the “quite flawed” report. Lumley was called as a witness after internal messages showed he felt the report was “full of holes like Swiss cheese.”

CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL: REPORTER PRESSED OVER HIS INTENSITY SEARCH FOR NAVY VETERANS WHILE DEFENSE MINIMIZED HIS PARTICIPATION

CNN issued an on-air apology on March 25, 2022, when fill-in anchor Pamela Brown was sitting in Tapper’s chair. However, several CNN employees Those who took the stand said they did not believe the apology was necessary, and CNN Vice President Adam Levine testified that the apology was only issued for legal purposes.

The trial also included Judge Henry repeatedly berating CNNN’s lead attorney, David Axelrod, who is not the on-air expert by the same name. forcing him to apologize at Young on the spot for calling him a “liar” when the evidence showed that he did not lie about not being able to earn a job in his field immediately after the CNN segment aired.

Axelrod had insisted that a document showing Young still had a security clearance was proof that he was able to find work after the CNN segment aired, but it eventually emerged that the security clearance was withdrawn in 2022.

The trial resumes Friday and will be broadcast live on Fox News Digital.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP