It looks like CNN is about to pay big bucks for defaming a man who was trying to get people out of Afghanistan in 2021 during Biden’s disastrous Afghan withdrawal.

Essentially what happened is that a CNN reporter on Jake Tapper’s show suggested that Zachary Young was profiteering off of people trying to escape Afghanistan. They used terms like “black market”, “exploit” and “exorbitant” to paing Young in a negative light.

The lawsuit hasn’t begun, but a panel of judges just ruled that Young has proven actual malice and that he can move forward with his defamation suit for punitive damages.

Here’s more from Fox News:

CNN faces a defamation lawsuit over a 2021 story centered around the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal as the network gears up for Thursday’s presidential debate between President Biden and former President Trump.

Judges with the First District Court of Appeal for the State of Florida ruled on June 12 that the plaintiff, Zachary Young, offered enough evidence that he was able to move forward with a defamation suit against CNN for punitive damages. Young alleges that CNN smeared his security consulting company, Nemex Enterprises Inc., by implying it illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan during the Biden administration’s military withdrawal from the country in 2021.

“Young sufficiently proffered evidence of actual malice, express malice, and a level of conduct outrageous enough to open the door for him to seek punitive damages,” the court document states. “Whether Young can ultimately prevail is not the issue before us.”

Young, a U.S. Navy veteran, argued CNN “destroyed his reputation and business by branding him an illegal profiteer who exploited desperate Afghans” during a Nov. 11, 2021, segment on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” which was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN’s website.

 
Here’s what happened during the CNN segment and behind the scenes:

Tapper, who will co-moderate the highly anticipated Biden-Trump debate, began the segment by informing viewers that CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt discovered “Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success.”

Tapper tossed to Marquardt, who said “desperate Afghans are being exploited” and need to pay “exorbitant, often impossible amounts” to flee the country. Marquardt then singled out Young, putting a picture of his face on the screen and saying his company was asking for $75,000 to transport a vehicle of passengers to Pakistan for $14,500 per person to end up in the United Arab Emirates.

“Prices well beyond the reach of most Afghans,” Marquardt told viewers.

“We got Young’s number and called, but he didn’t pick up. In a text message, he told CNN that ‘Afghans trying to leave are expected to have sponsors pay for them. If someone reached out, we need to understand if they have a sponsor behind them to be able to pay evacuation costs which are highly volatile and based on environmental realities,’” Marquardt continued. “Young repeatedly declined to break down the cost or say if he’s making money.”

No other people or companies were named other than Young.

“In another message, that person offering those evacuations, Zachary Young, he wrote, ‘Availability is extremely limited and demand is high’ … he goes on to say, ‘That’s how economics works, unfortunately,’” Marquardt told viewers.

Tapper responded, “Unfortunately, hmm,” before thanking Marquardt for the report.

 
Young has brought the evidence needed to make CNN really pay for smearing him like this:

Young alleged that CNN using the terms “black market,” “exploit” and “exorbitant,” painted him as a bad actor preying upon desperate people.

The judges wrote, “Young proffered CNN messages and emails that showed internal concern about the completeness and veracity of the reporting— the story is ‘a mess,’ ‘incomplete,’ not ‘fleshed out for digital,’ ‘the story is 80% emotion, 20% obscured fact,’ and ‘full of holes like Swiss cheese,’” but the network aired it anyway.

“Young also proffered a message exchange he had with Marquardt just hours before publication where he advised there were factual inaccuracies in the reporting. CNN published anyway,” the judges wrote, adding that other internal communications show CNN staffers “had little regard” for Young and used profanities and disparaging language when privately discussing him.

“Marquardt referred to him as ‘f—ing Young’ and quipped, “it’s your funeral bucko,'” according to the court document.

CNN tried to defend itself claiming comments were either opinion or ambiguous, but the judges suggested that defense was “journalistic bravado”.

Newsbusters suggests that the potential payout from CNN could exceed what Fox News had to pay Dominion. I sure hope so…