A jury determined on Friday that CNN is guilty of committing defamation against U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young. CNN will be forced to pay the Navy veteran $5 million, and the jury is expected to also determine punitive damages against the news outlet.
According to Fox News, the jury determined that Young should be awarded $1 million for personal damages, which include pain and suffering, and $4 million in lost earnings. The outlet noted that the jury will now move forward to the second phase of the trial to determine punitive damages against CNN.
Fox News reported that Young sued CNN for defamation after the outlet reported that the Navy veteran was an”illegal profiteer” who helped people evacuate from Afghanistan on the “black market” during the Biden-Harris administration’s chaotic withdrawal in 2021. The U.S. Navy veteran claimed that CNN “destroyed his reputation and business” by alleging that he exploited “desperate Afghans” during a report by CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt on an episode of “The Lead with Jake Tapper” on November 11, 2021.
During Thursday’s closing statement, Vel Freedman, Young’s attorney, urged the jury to punish CNN over the defamation case, arguing that the CNN report was a “calculated attack” on the Navy veteran’s character that “inflicted deep and lasting wounds.”
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Freedman said, “This is supposed to be the most trusted name in news. CNN is so arrogant, they are so used to getting whatever they want.”
“But they stand up here and they talk down to us with bold-faced lies about what the segment’s gist really is, and they expect you to believe it,” the attorney added. “I mean, do they think we’re all stupid?”
Meanwhile, CNN attorney David Axelrod argued that the news outlet’s story was “accurate” and was “tough but fair.” He claimed that the Navy veteran should have made efforts to convince the outlet that he was not “shady.”
“Mr. Young put himself in the story, not CNN. He inserted himself into it to make a buck,” Axelrod said. “Use your common sense. Do you see a conspiracy or do you see people just doing their best?”