CNN chose ‘theater over truth’ and ‘destroyed the life of an American Patriot,’ lawyer says to kick off trial

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – U.S. Navy Veteran Zachary Young’s legal team accused CNN of choosing "theater over truth" in a desperate attempt to drive ratings, which "destroyed the life of an American Patriot" on Tuesday during the first day of a high-stakes defamation trial.

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

"In August 2021, as American troops withdrew from Afghanistan under President Biden’s orders, the world braced for the Taliban’s return to power. Anyone watching the news at that time witnessed the chaotic situation that unfolded as millions of people attempted to flee the war-torn country," attorney Kyle Roche said to kick off the plaintiff’s opening statement.

"But CNN reporters, sitting at their desks in Washington, D.C., wanted to tell Americans an even more sensational story," Roche continued. "They had received a tip that Zachary Young, a veteran and CIA-trained operative, 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, there would be "nothing wrong" with CNN reporting that if it were true. 

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

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

Roche said emails and behind-the-scenes video footage will confirm his argument because they "show that CNN took pleasure in casting Zach as the villain" in an effort to increase interest in the story. Roche then told the jury about internal communications in which CNN employees used profanities and disparaging language when privately discussing Young. 

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

"Zach’s face was plastered across TV screens around the world, painting him as a black-market operator who preyed upon desperate Afghans. We’re in this courtroom today because CNN chose theater over truth and destroyed the life of an American patriot," Roche said. 

Roche told the jurors that Young successfully evacuated 22 women out of Afghanistan on behalf of Audible and Bloomberg, which are American companies that hired him to ensure specific people made it out of 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, hinting at internal communications that revealed some CNN staffers were skeptical of the story before it aired. 

Roche reminded jurors that the court had already ruled Young didn’t break any laws by receiving money from Afghans. He said this was a chance to send a message to all news organizations that "reckless journalism is unAmerican," "dangerous" and has consequences. 

"There is simply no excuse for what CNN did, and we’re going to show that to you through the 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 shown later in the trial when the plaintiffs had more time to break down each moment they consider defamatory. 

Next up was CNN's lead counsel David Axelrod, who is not the same person as CNN senior commentator David Axelrod, to deliver the opening argument for the defense. He strongly pushed back on Roche’s claims, insisting CNN’s reporting was "tough and fair" and "accurate." He added that it "never implied Young did anything criminal." 

"There is no there there," Axelrod said. 

"Every word was accurate, and CNN’s reporting was tough," 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 Mr. Young is doing anything criminal. It never implies Mr. Young is doing anything criminal. The story says that Mr. Young is charging a lot of money to get people out of Afghanistan, and it uses his own words, only his own words, to explain that," Axelrod said. 

"This is a defamation case, and you may ask, 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 actually look at the article, you’ll see that there’s no there there," he added. "So, I implore you, watch the segment carefully." 

CNN’s attorney then fired up the segment and repeatedly paused it to walk jurors through his side of the story, often suggesting that many of the 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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