Lawyers delivered powerful closing arguments as U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young's high-profile defamation trial against CNN headed to a jury Thursday.
Young said CNN smeared him in a report by correspondent Alex Marquardt that first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper” in November 2021, and that CNN will seek to flee Afghanistan after the Biden administration's military withdrawal. It alleges that he was illegally profiting from desperate people and insinuated that he was involved in “.'' 'black market' and thereby ruined his professional reputation.
“This was a calculated attack by CNN on his character that caused deep and lasting damage,” Young's lead attorney, Vel Friedman, told jurors.
“Zack's ability to walk into a room with pride and be seen as an honest professional has been stripped away. I feel his pain and suffering and mental anguish as he watches his name dragged through the mud. ” Friedman added. “These wounds are more than a financial loss. They strike at the very soul of who he is and who he was.”
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Vel Friedman gives closing remarks in Zachary Young's defamation trial against CNN.
“The scars of this humiliation … will never go away,” Friedman said, reminding jurors that Young had testified that he was on medication and was being treated for depression and panic attacks. .
“This person was a former Navy SEAL trainee and CIA operative. He is no longer active,” Friedman said.
“No man or woman should have to endure that pain,” he continued. “And it never is. [CNN] They want clicks and views. ”
Friedman cited key facts from on-air reports aired on multiple programs, including that Young “never expected Afghans to pay” and only worked with corporate sponsors. He accused CNN of leaving it out “intentionally.”
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US Navy veteran Zachary Young, plaintiff in CNN defamation lawsuit. (Jessica Costescu)
Friedman also reminded jurors that a number of CNN employees testified that the term “black market” was accurate, and others said there was no need for an apology on CNN's air. Adam Levine, CNN's senior vice president of news and editorial director, confirmed under oath that CNN only apologized to Young for legal purposes.
“None of us have any regrets. They all said they would do it again,” Friedman told jurors.
Friedman pointed to Levine's testimony that “there was no conspiracy” against Young, but told jurors that the rhetoric in CNN's internal documents proves otherwise.
He urged jurors to “change the course of history” and “right this injustice” by holding CNN accountable.
Friedman also summarized the kind of person Young was before his CNN segment, speaking about his mother, his relationship with his wife, and his professional and military background. He called Young a “former spy” who was trained by the Central Intelligence Agency, Blackwater and Navy SEALs.
“Zach was at the peak of his professional career,” Friedman said.
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The central portion of the trial was first broadcast on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” (CNN/Screenshot)
Young testified that he helped rescue at least 22 women and one infant from Afghanistan on behalf of corporate sponsors including Bloomberg Media and Amazon's Audible. Although this was omitted from the CNN report, Friedman told jurors that Young was portrayed as a “predator” operating in the “black market.”
Friedman also said CNN reporter Katie Beau Lillis did not tell Young that she would be the focus of the story, and that Marquardt acknowledged there was no evidence that Young took advantage of Afghans. He reminded jurors of some of the key highlights of the eight-day trial, including: Mr. Tapper's teaser was used to promote a segment about “desperate Afghans being preyed upon,” and the salty language used to describe Mr. Young was discovered in CNN's internal communications and video. Ta. Marquardt joked that the alleged phone call to Young was “a play.”
Friedman pointed out that Young's past contract specified that he could be fired for operating in the “black market,” and seven different CNN staff members have interpreted the term as “unregulated” rather than illegal. He suggested that a conspiracy arose in response to the definition of “no.”
“Don't allow CNN to rewrite the English language to avoid liability in this case,” Friedman said.
Friedman also said that CNN's internal references to “extortion” and “fraud” from the beginning of the report made it clear that CNN knew all along that it was investigating Young's illegal activities. They argued that CNN's definition of “black market” was undermined.
“There is a tool to save American media, and it's called punitive damages. Use it,” Friedman said.
“Use common sense. What was he hiding? CNN had the facts,” he told jurors, saying they were “arbiters of justice” and that their decisions were He said it could “send a message to other media companies.”
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CNN's lead attorney, David Axelrod, will deliver closing arguments. (Fox News Media)
CNN's lead attorney, David Axelrod, who shares the same name as the network's broadcast critic, delivered closing remarks for the defense. He began by urging jurors to look at the evidence, “do the right thing” and instruct them to use “common sense.”
Axelrod warned that he would repeatedly use the word “common sense” during his remarks.
“Are you seeing a conspiracy or are you seeing people trying to do their best?” Axelrod asked.
He said their job was not to “deliver a message” to the media, but to use common sense to determine what actually happened. Axelrod called CNN's reporting “harsh but fair” and suggested Young “put himself in” the story with a LinkedIn message that appeared to be Afghan.
He told jurors that no witnesses came forward to testify that he didn't hire Young because of CNN's reporting, suggesting Young suffered no real harm. Mr. Axelrod told jurors that an activist named Jill Kornetsky tipped off Mr. Young to a CNN reporter that he was “appearing on LinkedIn” offering services and that she believed it was “something. “I thought it was wrong,” he said.
Axelrod berated Young for his prior admission that he did not suspect Marquardt of trying to call him during a pretrial deposition, giving CNN a powerful fact-checking device. CNN suggested that there was, and dismissed the idea that two hours wasn't enough time for him to respond. His side of the story was told before CNN aired the report, and the article focused solely on Young. He claimed that he did not use his own words and message and was using his own words and message.
“He didn't want this story to become public,” Axelrod said.
“It doesn't mean CNN slandered him,” Axelrod added. “If this was an attempt to harm Mr. Young because they hated him, why would they include their words?”
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Plaintiff Zachary Young accused CNN of insinuating that he made illegal profits by helping people leave Afghanistan on the “black market” during the Biden administration's 2021 military withdrawal from Afghanistan. He claims that he was defamed. (CNN/Screenshot)
Axelrod said the definition of “black market” is not important because when you look at the word “in context” it is used in an “accurate” way to describe the situation in Afghanistan.
Axelrod omitted that CNN aired more of the report than the apology itself, and claimed that more people watched the on-air apology than the original report itself. He also fired staff members who opposed the apology, saying the apology would have been the final word in the matter had Young not filed suit.
CNN's lawyers also touted the network's journalistic ethics and accused Young of misleading doctors by claiming he was in Afghanistan during an evacuation to get a more thorough evaluation of his mental health.
“At the end of the day, you have to look at all the evidence and see if it makes sense…use your common sense,” Axelrod said.
“Defamation is called defamation because it hurts someone,” he added. “There are no witnesses to corroborate that. Not one.”
Axelrod also suggested that Young may have deleted LinkedIn messages in which he discussed money with Afghans, telling jurors that the plaintiffs rely primarily on paid expert witnesses. , and pointed out that an Austrian doctor was not called because Mr. Young currently resides in Austria. He said CNN was not “negligent,” that the report did not suggest that Young was receiving money directly from Afghans, and that no one other than Young had cast a negative light on the story. He said no.
“Please use common sense,” Axelrod told jurors, adding that punitive damages “are not justified.”
Ongoing trials can be live streamed here.
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