U.S. Navy Veteran Who Won $5M in CNN Defamation Case Sues AP

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Zachary Young has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Associated Press, following his previous $5 million win in a libel case against CNN over an incorrect 2021 report that depicted him as a black market operator profiting from evacuating Afghans after the U.S. military withdrawal.

In a lawsuit filed in Florida, an individual asserts that Associated Press (AP) harmed his reputation by stating, within their report on a court verdict, that he operated a business which facilitated the exit of people from Afghanistan. He contends that AP’s description of his Afghan evacuation efforts suggests he is involved in criminal activities.

According to the document, this statement is unequivocally incorrect. At the point when the article was released, AP was aware or showed negligence in knowing that a Florida court had previously determined that the Plaintiff did not commit any crime related to the Afghanistan evacuations. Contrary to the claim, Mr. Young did not smuggle anyone.

According to AP, their report about the jury decision in favor of Zachary Young was truthful and precise. They also mentioned that they plan to strongly contest this baseless lawsuit against their reporting.

The ongoing legal action is actually the third lawsuit Young has initiated concerning the media’s portrayal of his business. Previously, he also took legal action against Puck News for a statement in their report about the case, claiming that they falsely alleged he had charged “panicked locals … excessive fees – sometimes reaching tens of thousands of dollars – to help them flee the Taliban.

The issue originated after a Florida jury determined in January that CNN had defamed Young, a U.S. Navy veteran and security consultant. Following this verdict, a settlement was negotiated to resolve the entire case before the jurors could decide on punitive damages. These damages are meant to penalize harmful behavior and could have significantly increased the total amount awarded, but the exact figure of the settlement was not disclosed.

Several sources confirmed the ruling, among them Associated Press. However, Young disputes a statement in their report stating that his business facilitated the exit of individuals from Afghanistan. It’s important to note that he solely collaborated with well-funded external backers such as Bloomberg and Audible.

The lawsuit denies that he operated an illicit human trafficking business, funded by affluent backers. As Daniel Lustig, Young’s lawyer, explains in the April 11th court document, “The term ‘smuggle’ suggests secretly and illegally transporting individuals across borders.” However, it is contended that Mr. Young did not engage in such activities. The Afghans he aided were legally evacuated or had the implicit approval of the relevant authorities during a period of turmoil; none of them were smuggled in the sense of breaking immigration or criminal laws.

According to the complaint, AP apparently failed to contact Young for comment and disregarded a request for withdrawal, as claimed.

Young has shared that potential and current clients for his security consulting firm, Nemex, have hesitated to collaborate with him due to the article.

As a gamer, I’d put it this way:

In my legal battle with Puck News, which was launched on March 28th, I’m taking issue with an article that conveniently left out crucial internal CNN emails unveiled during the discovery process. These emails, in my opinion, were manipulatively used to suggest that my claims against CNN were baseless and that I was indeed guilty of what they had accused me of.

Additionally, the article made a wild guess that I won my lawsuit against CNN because the trial was held in one of Florida’s deepest-red districts. This is not only inaccurate but also unfairly implies that my victory was not genuine.

The entire statement made by Young that’s considered damaging is as follows: “Alex Marquardt reported that in the wake of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and the fall of the government, desperate locals sought aid from private contractors to leave the country. One such contractor was Zachary Young, a Navy veteran, whose company demanded high fees – often tens of thousands of dollars – for people to evade the Taliban.

Puck fully backs our findings, and we’re assured that the details will withstand any examination,” the representative of the company declared in their statement.

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2025-04-17 22:54