CNN accused of misleading court about net worth of high-profile defamation case

On By Littum

Ahead of a high-stakes defamation lawsuit, CNN is now accused of misleading the court about documents about its net worth.

U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young claims CNN smeared his security consulting firm, Nemex Enterprises Inc., by suggesting it made illegal profits when he helped people flee Afghanistan during the Biden administration’s 2021 military withdrawal from the country.

He is now suing CNN, claiming it “ruined his reputation and business” during an episode that same year on Jake Tapper’s show “The Lead.”

In September, Florida Judge William Henry ordered CNN to comply with a subpoena to provide additional financial information that the cable network presented to its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).

Although CNN claimed it would produce those files, documents obtained by Fox News Digital found that “Plaintiffs learned CNN never intended to produce documents showing assets and liabilities (because they don’t exist).”

“Not only did CNN and WBD fail to provide any of the promised documents identifying assets and liabilities, but CNN’s representative also failed to provide any information about the net worth number CNN provided (but recanted) in its inquiry response. In fact, CNN’s corporate representative provided no information about net worth at all, even though net worth was one of the topics noted — in fact, the main topic,” they read.

Ahead of a high-stakes defamation lawsuit, CNN is now accused of misleading the court about documents about its net worth. Reuters

The documents also found that the reason CNN could not provide financial information was that “its financial condition cannot be separated – at all – from the financial condition of parent company” Warner Bros. Discovery.

Young’s legal team is now asking the court to file an order requiring Warner Bros. Discovery’s financial statements are to be used to determine potential punitive damages and prevent CNN from introducing evidence or arguments based on its net worth.

A civil trial is scheduled to begin on January 6, 2025 before Judge William Henry in the Circuit Court for Bay County, Florida.

U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young claims CNN smeared his security consulting firm, Nemex Enterprises Inc., by suggesting it made illegal profits when he helped people flee Afghanistan during the 2021 Biden administration. CNN

Fox News Digital contacted CNN and Warner Bros. Discovery for a comment.

The CNN segment centering on the suit, which was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN’s website, began with Tapper informing viewers that CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt discovered “Afghans trying to get out of the country are facing facing a black market full of promises, demands for exorbitant fees and no guarantee of safety or success.”

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

Young is now suing CNN, claiming it “ruined his reputation and business” during an episode that same year on Jake Tapper’s show “The Lead.” CNN

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

Earlier this year, judges at the First District Court of Appeal for the state of Florida ruled that Young presented evidence “of actual malice, express malice and a level of conduct sufficiently outrageous” to warrant a trial.

The judges wrote: “Young offered CNN messages and emails that showed internal concern about the completeness and veracity of the reporting – the story is ‘mess’, ‘incomplete’, not ‘developed for digital’, ‘the story is 80% emotion , 20% blurred fact’ and ‘full of holes like Swiss cheese'”, but the network aired it anyway.