Tensions were high as the first expert witness took the stand at the CNN defamation trial brought by U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young in Panama City, Florida.
PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – An Army major general testified Friday he would have hired U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, the plaintiff in a high-stakes defamation lawsuit against CNN, before the controversial network report involving him, but not after it aired, saying it made him “too risky.”
Young alleges CNN smeared him in a November 2021 report that first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” suggesting he illegally profited off desperate people trying to flee Afghanistan following the Biden administration’s military withdrawal, implying he was involved in “black market” dealings and ruining his professional reputation as a result.
Major Gen. James V. Young, who is not related to the plaintiff, was the first expert witness to take the stand to share his military and intelligence experience, including his knowledge of Afghanistan leading up to the withdrawal and his thoughts on the aftermath.
He testified that he holds a security clearance but hasn’t worked in over a year. On Thursday, a document showing the plaintiff renewed his security clearance caused courtroom chaos when CNN’s legal team implied that it contradicted testimony that the plaintiff hasn’t worked since the CNN segment aired.
Maj. Gen. Young also explained how he would often delete messages related to evacuations, which is something CNN’s legal team has repeatedly scolded the plaintiff for doing. Additionally, he thought the prices the plaintiff was charging corporations for evacuations from Afghanistan were “reasonable” after CNN labeled such pricing “exorbitant.”
“We couldn’t have done what we did for free,” he said.
When asked whether he would hire the plaintiff after watching the CNN segment, he replied “no.” When he was asked why, that sparked an immediate objection from CNN’s defense team that led to a sidebar with Judge William Henry.
Henry ordered plaintiff attorney Kyle Roche to rephrase the question to ask why Maj. Gen. Young’s firm wouldn’t retain the plaintiff’s services, to which he responded the CNN segment created “risk” and could harm the reputation of anyone who hired the plaintiff.
“I would see someone like this as way too risky for our operation to be associated with,” Maj. Gen. Young said.
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Maj. Gen. Young had said the plaintiff would be seen as the “best of the best” prior to the CNN report if he had working relationships with high-profile intelligence leaders such as Leon Panetta and Jeremy Bash, who were listed on a document describing a project he testified to working on.
CNN’s lead counsel David Axelrod, not to be confused with the CNN political commentator, grilled the witness over whether he inquired about the plaintiff’s qualifications with anyone in the military or in the intelligence community before the trial, which he admitted he had not. He also testified that he had never met or had any knowledge of the plaintiff and was being paid to speak as an expert witness.
After a recess, Axelrod pressed Maj. Gen. Young on his comments about not hiring the plaintiff after the CNN segment, asking whether he would let a hypothetical 16-year-old girl die in Afghanistan because of not wanting to hire the plaintiff simply due to the report.
“We’d try other methods,” Maj. Gen. Young responded.
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Maj. Gen. Young later told Axelrod he would not hire the plaintiff even after CNN issued its on-air correction. However, Axelrod pressed him on how he had not asked anyone about whether they would hire him after CNN’s report. The witness replied he was giving his own “professional opinion.”
In a brief redirect line of questioning from Roche following the cross-examination, Maj. Gen. Young was asked whether there was anything “unethical” about the plaintiff’s work in Afghanistan, to which he answered “no.”
Asked whether he would have hired the plaintiff had the CNN segment not aired, Maj. Gen. Young replied “sure.”
Alex Marquardt, the correspondent who led the CNN segment at the center of the defamation case, is expected to testify on Monday.
The trial is being streamed live on Fox News Digital.
