{"id":2391637,"date":"2025-01-17T10:26:07","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T15:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/navy-vets-attorney-implores-jury-to-stand-up-against-fake-news\/"},"modified":"2025-01-17T10:28:02","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T15:28:02","slug":"navy-vets-attorney-implores-jury-to-stand-up-against-fake-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/navy-vets-attorney-implores-jury-to-stand-up-against-fake-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy Vet&#8217;s Attorney Implores Jury To &#8216;Stand Up Against Fake News&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/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%2Fnavy-vets-attorney-implores-jury-to-stand-up-against-fake-news%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=2391637&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>In a\u200c defamation case\u200d against CNN, U.S. \u200cNavy \u200cveteran Zachary Young&#8217;s \u200blead attorney, Vel Freedman, urged jurors too &#8220;stand up against fake \u200bnews&#8221;\u2064 as deliberations commenced. Young \u200dis suing CNN for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sidney-powell-seeks-to-dismiss-dominions-lawsuit-against-her-no-reasonable-person-would-believe-claims-were-truly-statements-of-fact\/\" title=\"Sidney Powell Seeks To Dismiss Dominion\u2019s Lawsuit Against Her: \u2018No Reasonable Person\u2019 Would Believe Claims \u2018Were Truly Statements Of Fact\u2019\">allegedly defamatory statements<\/a> that accused him of exploiting Afghans seeking evacuation\u2064 via a &#8220;black market.&#8221; He testified that this characterization harmed \u2064his professional reputation and \u200dcost him work, \u200bpointing out that his defense contract explicitly forbade\u200c participation\u200d in \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/southern-california-man-arrested-for-allegedly-stealing-4-million-worth-of-computers\/\" title=\"SoCal man arrested for stealing M worth of computers.\">black market activities<\/a>. Freedman emphasized the need for jurors to \u2063send a message to CNN,arguing that the network&#8217;s\u2063 report \u2062was a deliberate attack on young&#8217;s \u200bcharacter,resulting\u2063 in deep emotional\u200b scars beyond \u2062just \u200cfinancial losses. He described the toll that the defamatory report\u2064 has taken on Young&#8217;s sense of integrity and pride.  <\/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=PPVFQqaHHFQ\">  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\/17\/navy-vets-attorney-in-cnn-defamation-case-implores-jury-to-stand-up-against-fake-news\/\" 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=Navy%20Vet%E2%80%99s%20Attorney%20In%20CNN%20Defamation%20Case%20Implores%20Jury%20To%20%E2%80%98Stand%20Up%20Against%20Fake%20News%E2%80%99&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/17\/navy-vets-attorney-in-cnn-defamation-case-implores-jury-to-stand-up-against-fake-news\/\" 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=Navy%20Vet%E2%80%99s%20Attorney%20In%20CNN%20Defamation%20Case%20Implores%20Jury%20To%20%E2%80%98Stand%20Up%20Against%20Fake%20News%E2%80%99&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/17\/navy-vets-attorney-in-cnn-defamation-case-implores-jury-to-stand-up-against-fake-news\/\" 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\/17\/navy-vets-attorney-in-cnn-defamation-case-implores-jury-to-stand-up-against-fake-news\/\" 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=Navy%20Vet%E2%80%99s%20Attorney%20In%20CNN%20Defamation%20Case%20Implores%20Jury%20To%20%E2%80%98Stand%20Up%20Against%20Fake%20News%E2%80%99&amp;body=Young's%20lead%20attorney,%20Vel%20Freedman,%20implored%20jurors%20to%20'send%20a%20message.'%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/17\/navy-vets-attorney-in-cnn-defamation-case-implores-jury-to-stand-up-against-fake-news\/\" 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>The lead counsel for U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young implored jurors Friday to &ldquo;stand up against fake news&rdquo; as they began deliberations in the defamation case against CNN.<\/p>\n<p>Young sued <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/10\/trial-by-ambush-cnn-defamation-trial-gets-heated-during-third-day-of-hearings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CNN<\/a> over its allegedly defamatory report that Young says falsely accused him of exploiting desperate Afghans seeking evacuation from Afghanistan on a &ldquo;black market.&rdquo; Young testified that he lost work as a result of the report due to the use of the phrase &ldquo;black market.&rdquo; Jurors were shown a defense contract that Young had that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">expressly prohibited involvement<\/a> in &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/08\/jurors-riveted-by-evidence-cnn-defamed-navy-vet-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">black markets<\/a>.&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__b89e9-630782770\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Young&rsquo;s lead attorney, Vel Freedman, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PPVFQqaHHFQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">implored jurors<\/a> to &ldquo;stand up against fake news&rdquo; and to &ldquo;make the phone ring in Georgia [CNN&rsquo;s headquarters].&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Send a message [to CNN],&rdquo; Freedman said, arguing the report was &ldquo;a calculated attack by CNN on [Young&rsquo;s] character that has inflicted deep and lasting wounds.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Zak&rsquo;s ability to walk into a room with pride and being seen as a professional with integrity has been stripped away,&rdquo; Freedman said. &ldquo;His pain and suffering, mental anguish, seeing his name dragged through the mud. These are injuries that transcend monetary loss. They pierce the soul of who he is, who he was.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Freedman highlighted during his closing argument that CNN reporter Alex Marquardt (who led the report that later appeared both on &ldquo;The Lead with Jake Tapper&rdquo; and elsewhere) admitted he had no evidence that Young took advantage of desperate Afghans but nonetheless went forward with the story and that Marquardt was caught on camera claiming his alleged phone call to Young was just &ldquo;theater.&rdquo;<\/p>\n[[<strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/01\/13\/lawyer-cnn-propagandist-tried-to-find-dirt-on-navy-veteran-7-times-failed-and-still-published-a-hit-piece-with-no-evidence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lawyer: CNN Propagandist Tried To Find Dirt On Navy Veteran 7 Times, Failed, And Still Published A Hit Piece With &lsquo;No Evidence&rsquo;<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Freedman also argued that while CNN argues the term &ldquo;black market&rdquo; does not imply any illegal wrongdoing, individuals involved in the story at CNN used words like &ldquo;extortion&rdquo; and &ldquo;fraud&rdquo; during the preliminary process of the story and therefore jurors should &ldquo;not allow CNN to rewrite the English language to avoid liability in this case.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You have a tool to save American media,&rdquo; Freedman said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s called punitive damages. Use it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Jurors deliberated for nearly five hours on Thursday with no verdict reached and resumed deliberations Friday morning.<\/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\/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\/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\/lawsuit\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Lawsuit<\/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<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zachary Young&#8217;s attorney urged jurors to combat &#8220;fake news&#8221; during deliberations in his defamation case against CNN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2391638,"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-2025-01-16-at-10.51.09-PM-e1737085972487-1024x577.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[34247,48681,47286,48682,48680],"class_list":["post-2391637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-fake-news","tag-jury-duty","tag-legal-advocacy","tag-military-justice","tag-navy-veterans"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-01-16-at-10.51.09-PM-e1737085972487-1024x577.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391637","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=2391637"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2391641,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391637\/revisions\/2391641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2391638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2391637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2391637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2391637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}