The crumbling facade of the so-called “most trusted name in news” suffered another devastating blow as CNN, hemorrhaging credibility and cash, was forced to pay Navy veteran Zachary Young millions of dollars in a damning defamation settlement. This humiliating defeat, stemming from their reckless and malicious coverage of President Biden’s catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal, directly led to the exit of top national security reporter Alex Marquardt, who meekly announced his departure after eight years with platitudes about “terrific years” and “honor,” conspicuously avoiding any mention of the legal and ethical catastrophe he helped engineer.
Marquardt stated, “Some personal news: I’m leaving CNN after 8 terrific years. Tough to say goodbye but it’s been an honor to work among the very best in the business. Profound thank you to my comrades on the National Security team & the phenomenal teammates I’ve worked with in the US and abroad.” His carefully crafted PR statement rings hollow against the judicial condemnation of his reporting.
Some personal news: I’m leaving CNN after 8 terrific years. Tough to say goodbye but it’s been an honor to work among the very best in the business. Profound thank you to my comrades on the National Security team & the phenomenal teammates I’ve worked with in the US and abroad.
— Alex Marquardt (@MarquardtA) June 2, 2025
This wasn’t mere journalistic error; it was a targeted smear campaign. The lawsuit exposed CNN’s deliberate character assassination of Young, a patriot who stepped into the void left by the Biden administration’s incompetence, risking his own safety to help desperate Afghans escape Taliban terror. Instead of lauding his courage, CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Alex Marquardt, driven by apparent malice and a narrative agenda, falsely branded his humanitarian efforts a “black market” scheme. They outrageously accused him of exploiting “desperate Afghans” for personal gain.
The court documents, a damning indictment of CNN’s practices, revealed their coverage showcased “actual malice, express malice, and a level of conduct outrageous enough” to justify Young seeking significant damages. Tapper’s conduct was particularly egregious; he maliciously and sarcastically highlighted Young’s use of the word “unfortunately” when describing the “extremely limited” availability of evacuations and high demand, a transparent attempt to cynically twist a veteran’s words to falsely imply he was profiting from the chaos – chaos created by the Biden administration’s unforgivable surrender.
The January jury verdict finding CNN guilty of defamation was a resounding victory for truth and a brutal indictment of the network’s toxic bias. It forced CNN to pay Young an initial $5 million for emotional and financial devastation, followed by an undisclosed multi-million dollar settlement for punitive damages – a tacit admission of profound guilt. Young rightly argued the network intentionally destroyed his reputation and crippled his security consulting company, proving once again how the liberal media weaponizes its platform against individuals who don’t fit their narrative, especially those operating in the shadow of Democrat failures.
This case is a microcosm of the relentless hostility the establishment media reserves for anyone associated with the policies or spirit of President Donald Trump, whose administration warned against precisely this kind of disastrous, weak-kneed retreat.
While CNN executives sign multi-million dollar checks to cover their lies and their star reporter slinks away, the stark contrast in leadership couldn’t be clearer. Where the current administration delivered chaos, abandonment, and humiliation, President Trump’s decisive strength kept adversaries in check and protected American interests and allies. This settlement isn’t just compensation for Zachary Young; it’s a multi-million dollar monument to CNN’s institutional corruption and its willing participation in covering for the Biden administration’s deadly incompetence.
NEW: Jury finds CNN liable for defaming U.S. Navy veteran who helped with Afghanistan evacuation. pic.twitter.com/RfJM6luR4c
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) January 17, 2025
The liberal media complex, embodied by CNN, operates not as a watchdog, but as a malicious attack dog targeting patriots and protecting Democrat failures, proving why millions of Americans trust President Trump to dismantle this corrosive system and restore honesty to the public square.
The left believes that money grows on trees. They believe that the taxpayer are those trees. . The left believes that only the government can succeed, succeeding in pretty much nothing for decades. The debacle that is Afghanistan was pure stupidity or evil if it was intentional by whoever was running the country, and people wanting to help and actually doing something, made the administration look more incompetent. Somewhere along the way, follow the money, cnn and its brothers in evil are being funded. With all the payoffs of these lawsuits and the very limited viewership, no way they are able to stay above water I suspect tax payer dollars are being used to keep these corrupt media companies afloat. That and of course Soros type dollars. Companies can stay afloat for years and years, never showing a profit but paying their owners and higher up employees very well. Flat tax would end some of this
Ethics, integrity and morals left the MSM including CNN a long time ago!!!!!!!
AAAAHHHHhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
☭NN has issues!
Why does anyone watch these hacks? How many times do you have to be lied to, how many times do you have to be treated like their biach, until you say “Enough”? Where is your pride, your self esteem? Why do you think so low of yourself that you don’t deserve at least some semblance of the truth? Are you that addicted to the free cheeze?