Here Are Some Of The Most Surprising Pieces Of Testimony To Emerge From $1 Billion CNN Defamation Suit

A Navy veteran filed a defamation suit against CNN after the network allegedly suggested he participated in a scam that took advantage of Afghans who were desperate to flee the country.

Zachary Young filed a $1 billion suit against the network on June 12. The suit concerned a November 2021 segment by reporter Alex Marquardt that aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” That story portrayed Young’s evacuation efforts as exploiting Afghans by charging exorbitant rates for extracting them from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. During testimony Tuesday, CNN National Security Editor Thomas Lumley was asked how he characterized the story.

“The story is full of holes like Swiss cheese,” Lumley said in emails presented in court, according to Fox News reporter Joseph A. Wulfsohn, with a colleague describing the story as “80% emotion.” While on the witness stand, when confronted with emails where he expressed doubts, Lumley said the story was accurate and that he stood by it, Wulfsohn reported.

The trial started Jan. 6, with attorneys for Young telling a jury in Bay County, Fla., that the network failed to “confirm any of the facts” before airing the November 2021 report, while also describing the disparaging terms used by CNN employees towards Young, according to Fox News. Judge William A. Henry ruled in October that Young “did not act illegally or criminally” during his efforts to evacuate people from Afghanistan, Fox News reported