CNN accused of deliberately destroying evidence in a $1 billion libel war
CNN is accused of deliberately destroying ‘treasures’ of evidence in a A $1 billion libel war with a man who claims that a struggling network put forward a “false narrative” suggesting he was exploiting “desperate Afghans in an illegal market.”
In a recent court filing obtained by RadarOnline.comNavy veteran attorneys Zachariah Young allege that CNN deleted “treasures of data” relevant to the case knowing it had “a duty to preserve the information.”
The allegations stem from a November 2021 episode of Starring Jake Tapper which discussed Young’s efforts to evacuate people from Afghanistan during the resurgence of the Taliban. He complained that the resulting report listed “defamatory statements about black markets” in “photos of his LinkedIn posts” and in a photo of Young’s face.
The lawsuit filed in Florida alleges: “CNN published defamatory statements that harmed Mr. Young, ruined his reputation and destroyed his business.”
The segment was rebroadcast on other shows “both domestically and internationally,” and then the network “aggressively shared the same statements on numerous social media platforms such as X, Facebook and Instagram,” the complaint alleged.
Young’s recent filing added: “Unfortunately, after learning that a lawsuit would be filed in this case, CNN removed these posts. Specifically, it destroyed the analytics that would have shown how many people had seen the messages, how they “reacted” to the messages. posts, and even deleted the majority of comments the public left on their posts.”
This “resulted in the irreversible loss of crucial information about the reach, impact and interpretation of CNN’s defamatory statements,” the document said.
“Knowing that a lawsuit was imminent, CNN had a duty to preserve the messages in their entirety, including all comments, replies, analysis, metadata and engagement data. That was not done.”
Young’s lawyers say the network’s “inability to preserve” important evidence has ‘undermined’ [Young’s] ability to present a fully informed case”, and they asked the court to “inform the jury of this lost evidence and allow them to conclude that it would have been unfavorable to CNN”.
CNN issued a correction five months after the broadcast stating that the term “black market” was being used “incorrectly.”
CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardtwho was described by Young’s lawyers as the “author and architect” of the story, also appeared in the segment, reposting clips on social media that he reportedly deleted “long after this lawsuit was filed.”
If RadarOnline.com reports thisAn unredacted transcript in the file showed that Marquardt testified in a deposition that he had “no evidence” linking Young to illegal activity before the report aired.
When asked, “Did your reporting ever detect anything illegal going on regarding the evacuation process?” Marquardt responded, “No, that didn’t happen,” according to the document filed by Young’s attorneys.
He explained during the deposition that he and the show’s producers wanted to do the story as a way to expose Young “for participating in this black market that exploited Afghans at their most vulnerable time.”
Text messages visible the lawsuit also revealed show staffers called Young a “s—bag” and “a——” while admitting the story was “full of holes like Swiss cheese” and “not at all ready for prime time”.
The network said it did not intend to cause harm, argued that the language used was opinionated or ambiguous, and called the internal communications “journalistic bravado that reflected a genuine belief in the reporting.”
So did the company’s lawyers recently moved to block Young’s attempt to depose host Jake Tapper in the event, he said it would cause “annoyance and embarrassment” to Tapper, while “providing little useful information.”
Lawyers from Young have predicted they could win up to a billion dollars if the court agrees that “CNN published defamatory statements that harmed Mr. Young, ruined his reputation and destroyed his business.”
The next hearing is scheduled for August 12, and a civil jury trial will begin in January 2025.
