Emma Lacey Bordeaux, CNN's senior director of standards and practices, was called to the witness stand Wednesday to defend the controversial report at the center of a high-stakes libel trial.
U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young criticized the Biden administration after CNN slandered him in a report by correspondent Alex Marquardt that first aired on “The Read with Jake Tapper” in November 2021. , which suggested it was illegally profiting from desperate people trying to flee Afghanistan after the country's military withdrawal. , implying that he was involved in “black market” dealings and ruined his professional reputation as a result.
Lacey Bordeaux, who has worked at CNN since 2008, testified that her job is to ensure that CNN's content is fair. The department's lead attorney, David Axelrod, asked her whether the reporting at the center of the defamation suit was “accurate” and “fair” to Young.
“That's right,” Lacey Bordeaux said. “I think this piece is fair to Mr. Young.”
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CNN Senior Director of Standards and Practices Emma Lacey Bordeaux took the stand Wednesday.
After Axelrod finished his argument, Young's lead attorney, Vel Friedman, took over cross-examination. After asking a few questions about her journalism background, Friedman began asking Lacey Bordeaux questions about CNN's standards and practices. Lacey Bordeaux testified that it was a “mandatory” reading for all employees.
“The mission of CNN's News Standards and Practices is to ensure that CNN's on-air and online reporting and programming is accurate, fair, and responsible,” Friedman told jurors in the document. showed.
Friedman pointed out how CNN's fact-checking machine, called “Triad,” should always “warn you early in the process, preferably weeks or months before airing, rather than days before” policy. . But Lacey-Bordeaux acknowledged that she only received the script at the center of the lawsuit the day before the report was aired on CNN.
“We felt we had plenty of time to review this work,” Lacey Bordeaux said.
Lacey Bordeaux felt there was enough time to consider the piece, but Young argued there wasn't enough time to tell her side of the story.
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U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young was accused by CNN of slandering the Biden administration's 2021 military withdrawal from Afghanistan by implying that he made illegal profits by helping people leave Afghanistan on the “black market.” claims. (Jessica Costescu)
Young repeatedly told Marquardt that two hours was not enough time to answer a series of questions, according to messages previously shown to the jury. Mr. Marquardt claimed that he had already contacted her by phone the week before, but Ms. Young testified that Mr. Marquardt had not contacted her. CNN correspondents then gave Young just two hours to answer a series of questions.
“That is by no means a realistic deadline. In any case, I can tell you with certainty that some of your facts and allegations are not accurate. If they are published, I will seek legal damages. Mr. Young responded to Mr. Marquardt.
Marcart continued talking anyway.
Laceybordeaux testified that she initially described Young's two-hour response deadline as “sharp,” but changed her mind after Marquardt provided context. She also admitted that she did not review Young's communications with CNN before the report aired.
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CNN host Jake Tapper and correspondent Alex Marquardt in the segment at the center of the defamation lawsuit. (CNN/Screenshot)
Mr. Friedman shared internal messages between CNN employees in which reporter Katie Bo Lillis asked Mr. Young to speak but did not identify herself as the subject of the article.
“This is the first time I've seen this chain,” Lacey Bordeaux said.
Friedman noted that Marquardt had already announced that Young would be “on CNN,” but Lacey-Bordeaux argued that the exchange seemed “casual” and that the finished product was “fair.” I repeated that.
When asked whether the fact that there was no record of a missed call from Marquardt affected the two-hour time slot given to Young, Lacey-Bordeaux took a long pause. After thinking about it, she told the jury that two hours was enough.
Mr. Friedman then showed Lacey Bordeaux footage of Mr. Marquardt playfully referring to the controversial call as “theater,” which was revealed to jurors earlier this week after they were shown behind-the-scenes footage of the alleged call. It became clear when it was washed away. Friedman suggested that Marquardt didn't actually call Young, but the CNN reporter claims he did. Marquardt dismissed the “theatre” line as a reference to an old “Saturday Night Live” sketch.
After watching the video, Lacey Bordeaux rejected Friedman's belief that CNN “treats the news as theater.”
Testimony then focused on the notorious “black market” chiron used in much of the report. CNN aired an apology to Young in March 2022 that focused on the term “black market.”
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The central portion of the trial was first broadcast on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” (CNN/Screenshot)
“I never intended to suggest that Mr. Young participated in the black market,” CNN anchor Pamela Brown told viewers as part of her apology. “We regret the error and apologize to Mr. Young.”
Despite CNN's apology, many staffers testified that they didn't see the need and basically doubled down on the original report. Lacey Bordeaux echoed many of her colleagues who have previously testified, insisting the story was “fair” despite the network's apology.
Lacey Bordeaux also testified that she never asked to see the corner banner because she was satisfied with the coverage. Therefore, she never approved of “black market” Chiron.
The jury submitted a written statement suggesting the banner should be fact-checked along with the rest of CNN's content. Lacey Bordeaux acknowledged the juror's points were valid, but reiterated her confidence in the story.
The trial resumes Thursday and will be streamed live on Fox News Digital.
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