CNN defamation trial: Network chief defends controversial report at center of lawsuit for fairness
CNN’s senior director of standards and practices Emma Lacey-Bordeaux defended the controversial report at the center high trial for defamation on Wednesday when he was called to the witness stand.
Zachary Young, a U.S. Navy veteran, claims CNN defamed him in a November 2021 report by correspondent Alex Marquardt that first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” suggesting he illegally profited from 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.
Lacey-Bordeaux, who has worked at CNN since 2008, testified that her job is to ensure CNN’s content is fair. The network’s general counsel, David Axelrod, asked her if the report at the center of the defamation suit was “accurate” and “fair” to Young.
“It is,” said Lacey-Bordeaux. “I think the article is fair to Mr. Young.”
CNN’s senior director of standards and practices, Emma Lacey-Bordeaux, testified Wednesday.
After Axelrod finished, Young’s lead attorney, Vel Freedman, took over the cross-examination. After several questions about her journalism background, Freedman began discussing with Lacey-Bordeaux CNN’s standards and practices policy, which Lacey-Bordeaux testified was “required” reading for all employees.
Freedman showed the jury a document that said “the mission of CNN’s news standards and practices is to ensure that CNN’s broadcast and online reporting and programming are accurate, fair and accountable.”
Freedman noted that the policy dictates that CNN’s fact-checking apparatus, called the “Triad,” should always be “warned early in the process, preferably weeks or months in advance, not just days before the broadcast.” However, Lacey-Bordeaux confirmed that she only received the script at the center of the lawsuit the day before the report aired on CNN.
“I felt I had enough time to review the work,” Lacey-Bordeaux said.
While Lacey-Bordeaux felt she had plenty of time to review the article, Young insisted he didn’t have enough time to tell his side of the story.
U.S. Navy veteran 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. (Jessica Costescu)
According to messages previously shown to the jury, Young repeatedly told Marquardt that two hours was not enough time to answer a series of questions. Marquardt insisted he had already called and contacted LinkedIn last week, but Young testified that Marquardt had not contacted him. A CNN reporter then gave Young just two hours to answer a series of questions.
“That’s definitely not a realistic deadline. In any case, I can tell you for certain that some of your facts/claims are incorrect, and if they are published, I will seek legal redress,” Young replied to Marquardt.
Marquardt continued with the story anyway.
Lacey-Bordeaux initially called Young’s two-hour response time “harsh,” but testified she changed her mind after Marquardt provided context. She also admitted that she did not review CNN’s communications with Young before airing the report.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper and correspondent Alex Marquardt during a segment at the center of the defamation lawsuit. (CNN/Screenshot)
Freedman showed her internal messages between CNN employees in which reporter Katie Bo Lillis asked Young for an interview, but did not disclose that he was the subject of the story.
“This is the first time I’ve seen this chain,” Lacey-Bordeaux said.
Freedman then noted that Marquardt had already stated that Young was “going to be on CNN,” but Lacey-Bordeaux insisted that the exchange seemed “casual” and reiterated that the finished product was “fair.”
Lacey-Bordeaux took a long pause when asked if the fact that there was no record of the missed call from Marquardt would affect the two-hour window given to Young. After thinking about it, she told jurors that two hours was enough time.
Freedman then showed Lacey-Bordeaux a video of Marquardt playfully calling the controversial phone call “theatrics,” which was revealed earlier this week when behind-the-scenes footage of the alleged call was played to the jury. Freedman suggested Marquardt didn’t actually call Young, but the CNN reporter insists he did. Marquardt dismissed the phrase “theatre” as a reference to an old “Saturday Night Live” sketch.
After watching the video, Lacey-Bordeaux dismissed Freedman’s claim that CNN “treats its news like theater.”
The testimony then turned to the infamous “black market” chyron that was used for much of the report. In March 2022, CNN aired an apology to Young that focused on the term “black market”.
The segment centered on the trial first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” (CNN/Screenshot)
“We did not intend to suggest that Mr. Young participated in the black market,” CNN anchor Pamela Brown told viewers as part of the apology. “We regret the error and apologize to Mr. Young.”
Despite CNN’s apology, many employees testified that they didn’t feel it was necessary and actually doubled down on the initial report. Lacey-Bordeaux was on the same page as many of her colleagues who testified earlier, insisting that the story was “fair” despite the network’s telling.
Lacey-Bordeaux also testified that she never asked to see the banners for the segment because the report suited her. So she never approved the “black market” chyron.
The juror submitted a written statement suggesting that the banners should be vetted like the rest of CNN’s content. Lacey-Bordeaux conceded the jury was right, but reiterated her confidence in the story.
The trial continues on Thursday and will be broadcast live Fox News Digital.
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