CNN chose ‘theater over truth’ and ‘destroyed the life of an American patriot,’ lawyer says at trial launch

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – US Navy veteran Zachary Young’s legal team accused CNN of choosing “theater over truth” in a desperate attempt to boost ratings, which “destroyed the life of an American patriot » Tuesday, during the first day of a high-stakes defamation trial.

Young believes CNN “destroyed his reputation and business” by calling him an “illegal profiteer” who exploited “desperate Afghans.” Judge William S. Henry of the 14th Judicial Circuit Court, who is presiding over the trial in Bay County, Florida, ruled that Young “did not act illegally or criminally” despite what the network reported ‘antenna.

“In August 2021, as US troops withdrew from Afghanistan under President Biden, the world prepared for the Taliban’s return to power. country,” attorney Kyle Roche said to kick off the plaintiff’s opening statement.

“But CNN journalists, sitting at their desks in Washington, wanted to tell Americans an even more sensational story,” Roche continued. “They had received a tip that Zachary Young, a veteran and trained CIA agent, was illegally preying on desperate Afghans in a black market operation.”

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Roche told the jury of six women and two men, including alternates, that there would be “nothing wrong” with what CNN reported unless it was true.

“The problem for CNN? It couldn’t confirm any of the facts,” Roche said.

“He tried to get evidence that Zach was blaming the Afghans, but everyone he spoke to either said they had never heard of Zach or that Zach only worked with companies like Bloomberg who wanted to pay professionals like Zach to get their people out of the country,” he continued. “The facts didn’t matter. CNN felt like they had a sensational story that would drive up the ratings, and they didn’t care about the truth.”

Roche said the emails and behind-the-scenes video footage would support his argument because it “shows that CNN took pleasure in making Zach the villain” in an effort to increase interest in the story. Roche then told the jury about internal communications in which CNN employees used profanity and derogatory language in private discussions about Young.

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The story first aired on November 11, 2021, on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”

“Zach’s face was plastered across television screens around the world, portraying him as a black market operator who preyed on desperate Afghans. We are in this courtroom today because CNN chose the theater rather than the truth and destroyed the life of an American patriot,” Roche said. said.

Roche told jurors that Young successfully evacuated 22 women from Afghanistan on behalf of Audible and Bloomberg, U.S. companies that hired him to ensure some people left the country safely.

“You’re going to hear how this story turned Zach’s life upside down, despite warnings from CNN’s own employees that this story had ‘more holes than Swiss cheese,'” Roche said, referring to internal communications that revealed that some CNN staffers were skeptical of the story before it aired.

Roche reminded jurors that the court had already ruled that Young broke no laws by receiving money from the Afghans. He said it was an opportunity to send a message to all news organizations that “reckless journalism is un-American,” “dangerous” and has consequences.

“There is simply no excuse for what CNN did, and we are going to show you that through evidence,” he said.

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Roche did not use his allotted time to air the segment at the center of the lawsuit, suggesting it would be aired later in the trial when the plaintiffs had more time to break down each moment they deemed defamatory.

CNN’s lead attorney, David Axelrod, who is not the same person as CNN’s lead commentator, David Axelrod, then presented the defense’s opening arguments. He strongly rejected Roche’s claims, insisting that CNN’s reporting was “tough and fair” and “accurate.” He added that it “never suggested that Young had done anything criminal.”

“There’s nothing there,” Axelrod said.

“Every word was accurate and CNN’s reporting was harsh,” Axelrod added. “And that’s what the evidence is going to show in this case.”

Axelrod then showed jurors the segment at the center of the case, criticizing Young’s legal team for not showing it themselves during opening statements.

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“It never says that Mr. Young is doing anything criminal. It never implies that Mr. Young is doing anything criminal. The article says that Mr. Young is asking for a lot of money to get out the people of Afghanistan, and he uses his own words: only his own words, to explain that,” Axelrod said.

“This is a defamation case, and you may be wondering why the plaintiffs didn’t show the segment in their presentation…they chose not to show it to you. Because when you actually watch the segment and you look at the article, you’ll see there’s none there,” he added. “So, I implore you, watch the segment carefully.”

CNN’s lawyer then started the segment and paused it several times to tell jurors his side of the story, often suggesting that many elements weren’t even related to Young.

Young then took the stand as the first witness and spent the rest of the day detailing his extensive background. It will resume on Wednesday.

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