{"id":2388763,"date":"2025-01-10T10:06:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-10T15:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-defamation-trial-gets-heated-during-third-day-of-hearings\/"},"modified":"2025-01-10T10:07:52","modified_gmt":"2025-01-10T15:07:52","slug":"cnn-defamation-trial-gets-heated-during-third-day-of-hearings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-defamation-trial-gets-heated-during-third-day-of-hearings\/","title":{"rendered":"CNN Defamation Trial Gets Heated During Third Day Of Hearings"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcnn-defamation-trial-gets-heated-during-third-day-of-hearings%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2388763&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-york-times-issues-multiple-corrections-for-article-falsely-claiming-900000-u-s-children-have-been-hospitalized-for-covid-19-during-pandemic\/\" title=\"New York Times Issues Multiple Corrections For Article Falsely Claiming 900,000 U.S. Children Have Been Hospitalized For COVID-19 During Pandemic\">article discusses<\/a> the ongoing defamation trial involving CNN\u2064 and U.S. Navy\u200d Veteran Zachary Young. Young claims that a CNN report\u200d from \u200cNovember 2021 falsely accused\u200c him of exploiting Afghans for evacuations on the &#8220;black market,&#8221; which he argues has \u200bdamaged his\u2064 career and\u2062 made him unemployable. During\u2064 the third day of the trial, CNN introduced new \u200bevidence without prior notification, leading Young&#8217;s lawyers to accuse them of engaging in &#8220;trial by ambush.&#8221; \u2062The court later permitted \u2062the introduction of\u2062 this evidence, \u200deven tho it raised questions about\u2064 CNN\u2019s conduct during the trial. Tensions\u2062 escalated\u2062 as both <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">sides exchanged personal\u200c attacks<\/a>, prompting the judge, William Henry, to \u2063threaten fines for future\u200b misconduct \u200cin the courtroom. Young asserts \u2063that he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-court-rules-cdc-eviction-moratorium-is-unlawful\/\" title=\"Federal Court rules CDC eviction moratorium is unlawful\">lost income due<\/a> to the CNN report,while \u200bCNN\u2019s attorney insists that Young lied \u2064during his deposition. The article illustrates the high-stakes and contentious nature of\u2062 the proceedings as both parties\u2062 navigate the legal battle.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WNvDKucm-MI\">  Law &amp; Crime Network \/ YouTube <\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/10\/trial-by-ambush-cnn-defamation-trial-gets-heated-during-third-day-of-hearings\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=%E2%80%98Trial%20By%20Ambush%E2%80%99:%20CNN%20Defamation%20Trial%20Gets%20Heated%20During%20Third%20Day%20Of%20Hearings&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/10\/trial-by-ambush-cnn-defamation-trial-gets-heated-during-third-day-of-hearings\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=%E2%80%98Trial%20By%20Ambush%E2%80%99:%20CNN%20Defamation%20Trial%20Gets%20Heated%20During%20Third%20Day%20Of%20Hearings&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/10\/trial-by-ambush-cnn-defamation-trial-gets-heated-during-third-day-of-hearings\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/10\/trial-by-ambush-cnn-defamation-trial-gets-heated-during-third-day-of-hearings\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=%E2%80%98Trial%20By%20Ambush%E2%80%99:%20CNN%20Defamation%20Trial%20Gets%20Heated%20During%20Third%20Day%20Of%20Hearings&amp;body=CNN%20also%20failed%20to%20include%20in%20their%20report%20that%20Young%20had%20successfully%20evacuated%2022%20women%20and%20one%20child%20out%20of%20Afghanistan.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/10\/trial-by-ambush-cnn-defamation-trial-gets-heated-during-third-day-of-hearings\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>CNN was accused Thursday of &ldquo;trial by ambush&rdquo; by lawyers representing U.S. Navy Veteran Zachary Young  after attorneys for CNN introduced new evidence without notifying opposing counsel. <\/p>\n<p>Young says his livelihood was ruined by CNN after their November 11, 2021 report that Young alleges falsely accused him of exploiting Afghans by offering evacuations on a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnns-smear-tactics-could-cost-them-after-latest-court-ruling\/\" title=\"CNN&#039;s Smear Tactics Could Cost Them After Latest Court Ruling\">black market&#038;rdquo<\/a>; following the 2021 withdrawal. Notably, a court later found Young &ldquo;did not act illegally or criminally.&rdquo; Young alleges, however, that the use of the term &ldquo;black market&rdquo; in the CNN chyron &ldquo;rendered Young permanently unemployable&rdquo; because it implied that Young was involved in illegal conduct. As Young testified and evidence showed, the defense contracts Young was engaged in <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/08\/jurors-riveted-by-evidence-cnn-defamed-navy-vet-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">expressly prohibited<\/a> involvement in &ldquo;black markets.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-660883332\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Shortly after <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/06\/here-are-the-best-moments-from-the-jury-selection-for-cnns-defamation-trial\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">jurors<\/a> had returned from lunch Thursday they were sent out of the courtroom once again as <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/08\/jurors-riveted-by-evidence-cnn-defamed-navy-vet-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CNN&rsquo;<\/a>s attorney, David Axelrod, and attorneys for Young argued whether CNN could admit to evidence a 2021 contract for a security contracting firm. Young&rsquo;s lawyer argued CNN had deliberately chose not to subpoena the company, Helios, for the contract information during the allotted discovery process and that introducing it mid-trial amounted to &ldquo;trial by ambush.&rdquo; While Judge William Henry ultimately permitted CNN to use the contract in subsequent questioning, Henry did question Axelrod why CNN waited until the third day of trial to introduce such documentation.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Why wasn&rsquo;t this document or obtaining things from Helios &hellip; why was this &hellip; yesterday afternoon?&rdquo; Henry asked. &ldquo;Why didn&rsquo;t this get obtained until the third day of trial?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Axelrod argued he waited until the third day of trial because Young &ldquo;lied in his deposition.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Henry, visibly angry, then went to his chambers before returning and scolding both attorneys for introducing material post-discovery. Henry ultimately allowed Axelrod to use the document for further questioning. <\/p>\n[[<strong>READ NEXT:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/08\/navy-veteran-suing-cnn-for-defamation-breaks-down-at-trial-ive-just-been-completely-destroyed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Navy Veteran Suing CNN For Defamation Breaks Down At Trial: &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve Just Been Completely Destroyed&rsquo;<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Henry also threatened a $100 fine for any personal aspersions made going forward after both attorneys were lambasted for &ldquo;throwing mud back and forth&rdquo; and using &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-loeffler-fires-back-after-ossoff-accuses-her-of-campaigning-with-kkk-member\/\" title=\"Sen. Loeffler Fires Back After Ossoff Accuses Her of Campaigning with KKK Member\">personal attacks<\/a>.&rdquo; At one point, Young&rsquo;s lawyer accused CNN&rsquo;s team of being &ldquo;desperate,&rdquo; while Axelrod <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/cnn-defamation-trial-judge-imposes-fine-personal-jabs-after-chaos-erupts-court\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">accused<\/a> Young of making up &ldquo;some incredible ruse&rdquo; and bringing a fraudulent case to court. <\/p>\n<p>The money would go toward North Florida Legal Services, according to Henry. Axelrod then offered to pay the fine in good faith.<\/p>\n<p>Young later testified that the Helios contract that was at the center of the &ldquo;trial by ambush&rdquo; claims was merely a security clearance document but did not undermine his claim and earlier testimony that he did not make money following the airing of the CNN segment. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Every year you have to sign this administration document &hellip; it&rsquo;s not an agreement to do work &hellip; it&rsquo;s an administrative function,&rdquo; Young <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/briansflood\/status\/1877467422518542632\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testified<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The cross-examination of Young concluded Thursday with Young pointing out that CNN never included in their allegedly defamatory story that he did successfully evacuate nearly two dozen individuals from Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>Part of CNN&rsquo;s digital reporting on Young discussed &ldquo;exorbitant&rdquo; fees being charged to evacuate Afghans, with CNN&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/11\/13\/politics\/afghans-exorbitant-costs\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alex Marquardt<\/a> writing that Young did not provide CNN with a breakdown of costs and that &ldquo;CNN has not confirmed whether these operators charging the high fees have successfully evacuated anyone who paid to exit the country, as Young claims.&rdquo; The segment on Tapper also included a claim that &ldquo;Afghans trying too get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But what CNN failed to include in their report was that Young had successfully evacuated 22 women and one child out of Afghanistan on behalf of the corporations he was working for at the time, according to testimony provided by Young on Thursday.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/afghanistan\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Afghanistan<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/afghanistan-withdrawal\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Afghanistan withdrawal<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/black-market\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Black Market<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/cnn\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">CNN<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/defamation\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">defamation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/florida\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Florida<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/jake-tapper\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Jake Tapper<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/media\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/navy\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Navy<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CNN faced accusations of &#8220;trial by ambush&#8221; from Zachary Young&#8217;s lawyers after introducing new evidence without prior notice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2388764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-01-09-at-10.37.43-PM-e1736480434650-1024x577.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[9373,48264,48016,33118,4188],"class_list":["post-2388763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cnn","tag-courtroom-drama","tag-defamation-trial","tag-legal-proceedings","tag-media"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-01-09-at-10.37.43-PM-e1736480434650-1024x577.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2388763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2388763"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2388763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2388767,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2388763\/revisions\/2388767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2388764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2388763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2388763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2388763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}