CNN paid an undisclosed settlement to a U.S. Navy veteran on Friday after a Florida jury found the network defamed him when it implied he illegally profited from helping Afghans flee the country during a 2021 segment on “The Lead With Jake Tapper.”
The settlement was made while the jury deliberated on how much CNN owed in punitive damages for libel. Earlier in the day, the network was ordered to pay Zachary Young $5 million in compensatory damages.
After the judge announced that a settlement had been reached, one of the jurors asked if they could hear said number. When the judge looked at both CNN and Young’s attorneys and received no response, they replied, “Apparently not.”
Young sued CNN in June 2022 for defamation after he said their segment on him “destroyed his reputation” and his security consulting business, Nemex Enterprises, Inc. The segment, reported by CNN chief security correspondent Alex Marquardt, said Young operated on the “black market” and “exploited” desperate Afghans fleeing the country following the U.S. Military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
To leave the country, Afghans were being charged “exorbitant, often impossible amounts,” Marquardt said before a picture of Young was shown. The segment then said Young’s security company was charging $14,500 per person, or $75,000 for vehicles with passengers, to whisk them out — “prices well beyond the reach of most Afghans,” Marquardt noted.
The segment then showed Marquardt allegedly attempting to reach Young by phone. Young did not answer, and Marquardt said the veteran “repeatedly declined to break down the cost or say if he’s making money.”
This became a key point in the trial, as Young claimed Marquardt never made the phone call. Behind-the-scenes footage shown at the trial showed the reporter joking with colleagues it was all “theater,” per Fox News. Marquardt testified he made the phone call and that the “theater” claim was just a joke alluding to “Saturday Night Live.”
Tapper’s teasers for the segment — which first ran on his show on Nov. 11, 2021 — were another important factor in the trial. “Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees and no guarantee of safety or success,” he said in one of the clips.
On Friday, the Florida jury sided with Young following a nine-day trial. The jury awarded him $4 million in lost earnings and another $1 million in personal damages, and also determined punitive damages could be awarded before the settlement was reached.
Key aspects of CNN’s finances were heard by the jury before making its decision. The network, according to financial documents shared in court, saw its net worth nearly sliced in half from 2021 to ’23; CNN’s revenue also dropped 18.8% during that time, from $2.2 billion annually to $1.8 billion in 2023, the most recent year for which financial figures were available.
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