According to a report from The Daily Wire, CNN may be on the hook for a massive $1B dollar defamation payout after a segment on Jake Tapper’s show in 2021 accused a military vet of illegally profiteering by trying to help people out of Afghanistan during Joe Biden’s botched evacuation.
Zachary Young and his company Nemex Enterprises Inc. were the focus of the segment and it may have cost them $40-60 million in economic opportunity.
From The Daily Wire:
A Florida appellate court affirmed this month that U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young and his company, Nemex Enterprises Inc., could seek punitive damages for the Afghanistan story that the plaintiff alleges had improperly suggested he was an illegal profiteer.
Vel Freedman, Young’s lawyer, told NewsBusters his client lost $40-60 million in economic opportunity and could get up to $600 million if a jury awards him emotional damages. With punitive damages, CNN could also end up paying $1 billion, per the report.
The lawsuit alleges CNN wrecked Young’s reputation and business with its report by correspondent Alex Marquardt. Tapper introduced the segment by telling of a “black market” with demands of “exorbitant fees” and “no guarantee of safety or success.”
Internal communications produced in the case showed CNN employees call Young, the sole operator profiled in the TV and online report, a “s–tbag” and “a-hole.” There was also a remark about how they were “going to nail this Zachary Young m—ker.”
CNN is arguing that it “did not intend to harm” and that its “language was either opinion or ambiguous.”
🚨 BREAKING:
CNN may face a $1 billion defamation lawsuit as a result of @jaketapper's malignant coveragehttps://t.co/918gIbKyjm
— MRC NewsBusters (@newsbusters) June 24, 2024
