A senior CNN contributor called a Navy veteran “as***” in messages uncovered in an ongoing lawsuit.
Fuzz Hogan, the senior director of the network’s Standards and Practices department, had made the comment about Zachary Young, who is now suing them for defamation.
The lawsuit, which began this week, came about after Young appeared in a Jake Tapper segment in November 2021, which he said “destroyed his reputation.”
Young claims CNN smeared him by suggesting he illegally profited from helping people flee Afghanistan on the “black market” during the 2021 military withdrawal from the country.
His lawsuit alleged that the broadcast spotlighted his work and instead labeled him as someone who exploited “desperate Afghans” with “exorbitant” compensation who tried to flee their homeland when the Taliban took over.
On the fourth day of the trial, his lawyers discovered internal messages between CNN employees, including Hogan.
In a conversation with Hogan and Elizabeth Wolfe, a reporter at the network, the two criticized the veteran.
Wolfe appeared to complain about Young’s business pitch for helping potential Afghan evacuees with legal issues, prompting Hogan to join in the criticism.
Wolfe wrote, “Wow, this guy is promising them legal status or refugee status,” to which he replied, “Yes, he’s so ***.”
US Navy veteran Zachary Young, seen here, is suing CNN in a $1 billion defamation suit after claiming the network ‘destroyed his reputation’
Fuzz Hogan, who currently serves as a senior director in CNN’s Standards and Practices department, ran into trouble on the fourth day of the trial.
Hogan was working as a fact-checker at the time the story aired, making him the person responsible for clarifying the facts in the story itself.
Messages between Hogan and Tom Lumley, an editor, showed the pair discussing the digital version of the story written by correspondent Alex Marquardt.
Lumley seemed to disagree with its authenticity: ‘That story is not poetry anyway. I just want to publish something to defuse the drama.”
‘I also think it’s a half-good story. We should have gone ahead and reported more on it.”
In response to Lumley, Hogan wrote: “Feels like a good character, but he’s only three-quarters of the way to the bigger thing. Every story can be longer.’
After admitting that he called Young a “s***,” he was then asked, “And then you approved a 3/4 true story, didn’t you?” To which he agreed.
He added that he was not concerned that Tapper’s report was aired too early or that it was too incomplete.
Evidence in the case also included text messages from the network’s journalists describing Young as a “s***-bag” and an a**hole,” along with a text that read “we’re going to get this Young mf- ‘, said the Los Angeles Times.
The lawsuit stems from a November 2021 broadcast on The Lead with Jake Tapper, where the network warned viewers that “desperate Afghans still trying to flee the country are being targeted by people demanding they pay dearly to get out.” come’
In a blown-up conversation between Hogan and Elizabeth Wolfe, a reporter at the network, Hogan appeared to call Young “a sh**”
Another text exchange between Hogan and Tom Lumley, an editor at the network, showed the pair discussing the digital version of the story written by CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt, during which they admitted it was a “half-good story.”
During the 2021 broadcast, Marquardt pasted a photo of Young’s face on air and said his company was charging $75,000 to transport a vehicle with passengers to Pakistan and a fee of $14,500 per person to get to the United Arab Emirates come.
Young said Tapper using the word “black market” to describe the work he does has had an “immediate and devastating impact on my life.”
Tapper first teased the 2021 segment in the middle of the lawsuit by warning the network’s viewers of “desperate Afghans who are still trying to escape the country and are being besieged by people demanding they pay big money to get out.” come’.
As the broadcast began, Tapper talked about how Marquardt “found that Afghans trying to get out of the country faced a black market full of promises, demands for exorbitant fees and no guarantee of safety or success.”
The segment then switched to Marquardt himself, who reiterated that Afghans are exploited and have to pay an “often impossible sum” to flee the country.
He then singled out Young by pasting a photo of his face on the screen, saying his company was charging $75,000 to transport a vehicle with passengers to Pakistan and a fee of $14,500 per person to travel in the United Arab Emirates to end up.
Marquardt added that Young told CNN in a text message that Afghans who attempt to flee are expected to have sponsors pay for them because evacuation costs are “highly volatile and based on environmental realities.”
The 2021 story said Afghans trying to flee must negotiate with private operators who charge an impossible amount of money for aid
For Young, the label “black market” implied a form of criminality, and he was not doing anything illegal.
“It’s devastating when you’re labeled a criminal around the world,” Young testified Tuesday.
During his testimony, he went into detail about his extensive training, adding that he was interested in U.S. national security and wanted to pursue a career after his time.
He explained that the world is a “big place” and the government can’t do everything to keep America safe, so he believes private contractors are critical.
Young also testified that he could not violate “black market” laws and produced an employment contract with DynCorp in 2018.
The contract showed his wages at approximately $361,000 per year, which contained several ethical and legal clauses that, if broken, would end in a termination without severance pay.
Young explained the difficulties associated with evacuating people from Afghanistan, likening it to a frog carefully jumping from lily pad to lily pad until it reaches a taxing limit.
“It’s a very stressful environment,” he said.
Judge William S. Henry, a 14th Judicial Circuit Court judge presiding over the trial in Bay County, Florida, has already ruled that Young “did not act illegally or criminally” and “did not take money from Afghans.”
The 2021 story came after the Biden administration finalized the decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan
CNN said in court filings that Young’s case amounts to “implied defamation,” and that he has not actually been accused of nefarious acts.
The first story he complained about did not mention Young until three minutes later, CNN attorney David Axelrod argued Tuesday.
Five months after the story aired, Young complained about it, and CNN issued a statement saying the use of the phrase “black market” was wrong.
“It was not our intention to suggest that Mr. Young was participating in a black market. We regret the error. And to Mr. Young, we apologize,” the network said.
That failed to prevent a defamation lawsuit, and the chairman, William S. Henry, denied CNN’s request to dismiss the case.
CNN said in a statement that “when all the facts come to light, we are confident we will have a verdict in our favor.”
Axelrod argued Tuesday that CNN’s reporting was harsh, fair and accurate.
He told the jury they won’t hear witnesses who will say they thought less of Young or wouldn’t hire him because of the story — in other words, no one to support his claim that it was so damaging to his business and life. .
Judge William S. Henry, the 14th Judicial Circuit Court judge presiding over the trial in Bay County, Florida, has already ruled that Young “did not act illegally or criminally,” despite what the station initially reported on air.
Judge Henry also stated that the court found that Young “did not take money from Afghans.”