Defense attorneys delivered strong closing arguments Thursday as U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young a high-profile libel trial against CNN’s heads to the jury.
Young claims CNN defamed him in a November 2021 report by correspondent Alex Marquardt that first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” suggesting he made illegal money off desperate people trying to flee Afghanistan after Biden administration military retirement, implying that he was involved in “black market” dealings and as a result destroying his professional reputation.
“It was a calculated attack on his character by CNN that caused deep and lasting wounds,” Young’s lead attorney, Vel Freedman, told jurors.
“Zak’s ability to walk into a room with pride and be seen as a professional with integrity has been taken away. His pain and suffering, mental anguish, seeing his name dragged through the mud,” Freedman added. “These are injuries that go beyond monetary loss. They pierce the soul of who he is, who he was.”
Vel Freedman delivers his closing arguments at Zachary Young’s defamation trial against CNN.
Freedman said the “scars of this humiliation … will never go away” and reminded jurors that Young testified he was taking medication and receiving treatment for depression and panic attacks.
“This was a former Navy SEAL trainee, CIA operative, he can no longer function,” Freedman said.
“No man or woman should have to suffer that pain,” he continued. “And certainly not because of that [CNN] it wants clicks and views.”
Freedman accused CNN of “deliberately” omitting key facts from the on-air report that was shown on multiple programs, such as that Young “never expected the Afghans to pay” any fees and that he only worked with corporate sponsors.
CNN LIBEL TRIAL: INTEGRITY NETWORK CHIEF DEFENDS CONTROVERSIAL REPORT AT CENTER OF LAWSUIT
U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, plaintiff in CNN’s defamation suit. (Jessica Costescu)
Freedman also reminded jurors that many CNN employees testified that the term “black market” was accurate, and others said the network’s on-air apology was unnecessary. CNN’s senior vice president of news and executive editorial director Adam Levine even admitted under oath that CNN apologized to Young only for legal reasons.
“None of them are sorry. They all said they would do it again,” Freedman told jurors.
Freedman pointed to Levine’s testimony that there was “no conspiracy” against Young, but told jurors that the rhetoric in CNN’s internal documents proved otherwise.
He urged jurors to “change the course of history” by holding CNN accountable and “cure this injustice.”
Freedman also summed up who Young was before the CNN segment, talking about his relationships with his mother, his wife, and his professional and military background. He called Young a “former spy,” trained by the Central Intelligence Agency, Blackwater and Navy SEALs.
“Zak was at the peak of his professional career,” Freedman said.
The segment centered on the trial first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” (CNN/Screenshot)
Young testified that he helped rescue at least 22 women and one baby from Afghanistan on behalf of corporate sponsors, including Bloomberg Media and Amazon-owned Audible. Although it was left out of the CNN report, Freedman told jurors that Young was portrayed as a “predator” operating in the “black market.”
Freedman also reminded jurors of some of the highlights of the eight-day trial, such as CNN reporter Katie Bo Lillis not disclosing to Young that he would be the focus of the story, Marquardt admitting there was no evidence Young used the Afghans, Jake Tapper’s teasers used to promoting a segment about “desperate Afghans under attack,” salty language used to describe Young found on internal CNN communications, and a video of Marquardt joking that his the alleged phone call to Young was “theatrics.”
Freedman noted that Young’s past contract stated he would be terminated for “black market” work and suggested a conspiracy after seven different CNN staffers defined the term as “unregulated” instead of illegal.
“Do not allow CNN to rewrite the English language to avoid liability in this case,” Freedman said.
Freedman also argued that CNN’s internal reference to “extortion” and “fraud” from the beginning of the report makes it clear that the network knew from the beginning that they were investigating Young for illegal activity, undermining how they define the “black market.”
“You have a tool to save the American media. It’s called punitive damages. Use it,” Freedman said.
“Use your common sense. What was he hiding? CNN had the facts,” he said, telling jurors they were “the arbiters of justice and their decision could ‘send a message to other media companies.’
CNN General Counsel David Axelrod delivers his closing remarks. (Fox News Media)
CNN General Counsel David Axelrodwho shares the same name as the television show expert, presented the defense’s closing argument. He began by urging the jury to really look at the evidence and “do the right thing,” instructing them to use “common sense.”
Axelrod warned that he would repeatedly use the term “common sense” during his remarks.
“Do you see a conspiracy or do you see people trying to do their best?” Axelrod asked.
He told them their job was not to “deliver a message” to the media, but to use common sense and determine what actually happened. Axelrod called CNN’s reporting “tough but fair” and suggested Young “get involved” in the story with LinkedIn messages visible to Afghans.
He suggested Young suffered no real harm, telling jurors no witnesses came forward to say he wasn’t hired because of the CNN report. Axelrod told jurors that an activist named Jill Kornetsky tipped off CNN reporters to Young because he was “out there on LinkedIn” offering his services, and she “perceived it as something wrong.”
Axelrod blasted Young for previously admitting he had no doubt Marquardt had tried to call him during pretrial testimony, suggested CNN has a robust fact-checking apparatus, dismissed the idea that two hours wasn’t enough time for Young to answer his side of the story before CNN aired its report, and insisted that the story did not focus solely on Young and used his own words and messages.
“He didn’t want the story to come out,” Axelrod said.
“That doesn’t mean CNN defamed him,” Axelrod added. “If it was trying to harm Mr. Young because they hate him, why would they include his own words?”
Prosecutor Zachary Young claims CNN defamed him by suggesting he made illegal money helping people flee Afghanistan on the “black market” during the Biden administration’s 2021 military withdrawal from the country. (CNN/Screenshot)
Axelrod said the definition of “black market” doesn’t matter because when you look at the words “in context,” they were used in a “precise” way to describe the situation in Afghanistan.
Axelrod claimed that more people watched the on-air apology than the original report itself, omitting that the report was broadcast more on CNN than the apology itself. He also dismissed staff who disagreed with the apology, saying if Young had never filed a lawsuit, the apology would have been the last word on the matter.
CNN’s lawyer also praised the network’s journalistic ethics and accused Young of misleading doctors when he claimed he was in Afghanistan during the evacuation to get a more accurate diagnosis 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.
Slander is called slander because it hurts someone,” he added. “There are no witnesses to confirm that. Not a single one.”
Axelrod also suggested that Young may have deleted LinkedIn messages in which he discussed money with Afghans, reminded jurors that the prosecutor relied heavily on paid expert witnesses and noted that no Austrian doctors were called because Young currently resides in Austria. He said CNN was not “negligent,” that the release did not imply that Young took money directly from Afghans and that no one but Young himself took a negative view of the story.
“Use your common sense,” Axelrod told jurors, adding that punitive damages “are not warranted.”
The ongoing trial can be watched live here.
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