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JUST IN: CNN, Jake Tapper Lose Major Defamation Trial

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It’s all over but the crying for CNN’s legal team after suffering a huge loss in a defamation trial brought by a former military contractor who accused the network of slandering him for simply doing his job.

The two-and-a-half-year ordeal began in 2021 following an investigative report by anchor Jake Tapper alleging that Navy veteran Zachary Young was arranging exfiltrations for refugees in Afghanistan during a chaotic withdrawal that year by U.S. forces. Tapper told viewers that Young leveraged “a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success,” all of which was slapped down by a judge in October.

On Friday, a Florida jury awarded Young, a security consultant, a $5 million judgment after a nine-day trial. Jeremy Barr with the Washington Post, who was on hand for the trial, predicted the sum will ultimately be “much higher” because Young is entitled to punitive damages as well.

Malicious conduct can determine the level of punitive damages awarded in defamation cases. Much of the case rested on how Tapper characterized Young. At one point, Tapper referred to the veteran on-air as an “illegal profiteer” and later cited Sharia law when challenged about what law Young had broken.

Jurors also heard select deposition testimony by Tapper, including his response to a question from Young’s attorney about whether journalists who pursue clicks rather than facts are a “cancer” on society. Tapper had publicly used the term “cancer” in the past when referring to Fox News’ defamatory coverage of Dominion Voting Systems.

“I’m just talking here about whether or not a news organization that tells willful lies is a cancer on society?” the plaintiff’s attorney asked, according to Law&Crime. “Can you answer that question?”

“I mean, you can think whatever you want,” Tapper said.

“I made a statement about the months — the non-hypothetical monthslong campaign against Dominion Voting, against Smartmatic, against all the people that participated in the process in 2020,” he said. “It was [a] monthslong campaign that was undermining democracy. For the benefit of one particular political leader. And that comment I made? I made. And I stand by it. But I don’t have answers to extend the metaphor to every single person, organization and situation in journalism. So, I just don’t even know what you want me to say here.”

After being threatened with legal action by Young, CNN issued an on-air correction, removed the segment, and deleted all references to “black markets” in the story, though network executives testified at trial that some of those steps weren’t necessary.

Young filed the lawsuit later that year, alleging he had become unemployable as a result of CNN’s biased reporting and has struggled to maintain his security clearance. He sought at least $15 million.

Before issuing a decision on punitive damages, the jurors heard from CNN’s legal counsel about the network’s declining finances. “You’re going to see that the company’s net worth is actually in a subtle decline. You’re also going to hear about the headwinds facing the entire media environment,” a network attorney said in court on Friday.