Navy Veteran Suing CNN for Defamation ‘Did Not Act Criminally or Illegally’: Court

CNN headquarters area one day prior to the presidential debate in Atlanta, Ga., on June 26, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

A U.S. Navy veteran who is suing CNN for defamation did not commit any illegal acts when he helped people evacuate from Afghanistan, according to an Oct. 22 ruling.

Zachary Young sued CNN in 2022 after the network aired segments about him and others who became involved in private evacuation efforts in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country. At one point, emblazoned over one of Young’s messages about facilitating evacuations for a fee, CNN said that “Afghans trying to flee Taliban face black markets, exorbitant fees, [and] no guarantee of safety or success.”

“The Court can conclude that Young did not act criminally or illegally,” Bay County Judge William S. Henry wrote in Tuesday’s ruling.

As the case heads toward trial after several rulings in favor of Young, he asked the court to declare that the term “black market” means an illegal market, that CNN’s statements about black markets concerned Young and that Young never did anything illegal or operated on a black market.

CNN in filings said Young committed illegal acts, pointing to how the Taliban barred Afghans from exiting Afghanistan without permission.

“Discovery has indicated that those activities he orchestrated and funded, which involved moving women out of Afghanistan, almost certainly were illegal under Taliban rule,” CNN said in one filing.

The network also said that Young operated in an unregulated private market for evacuation services.

Henry declined to agree that “black market” means an illegal market. He also said that he was not determining at this time whether Young operated in a black market.

“Since black market is not being defined as a matter of law, the Court cannot conclude that Young did not operate in a black market or that the reporting was false,” he said.

The judge then rebuffed CNN’s position that being illegal was equivalent to opposing the Taliban or Sharia law.

“There is nothing in the record to suggest that any Taliban or Sharia law which would restrict the movement of persons (especially women) within or out of Afghanistan was properly enacted, adopted or recognized law to even suggest that evacuating individuals from Afghanistan was a criminal or illegal activity,” Henry said. “In fact, the only information contained in the record suggests that formal adoption of any rules restricting travel within or out of Afghanistan did not occur until 2024—almost three years after the publications in this case.”

CNN has also acknowledged that its reporting did not uncover illegal or criminal activity by Young, so “there is no dispute as to material fact that Young did not act illegally or criminally,” the judge said.

The judge also ruled that some of CNN’s statements about black markets concerned Young, but not all.

“The Court’s ruling is an important step forward as we prepare for trial this January,” Devin Freedman, Young’s lawyer, told The Epoch Times in an email.

A lawyer representing CNN did not respond to a request for comment.