CNN must deliver docs dating back to 2021 as high-stakes defamation suit moves forward, judge rules

The judge in the high-stakes defamation lawsuit against CNN issued an order on the network’s objections to the plaintiff’s discovery requests this week as litigation moves forward. 

U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young alleges that CNN smeared his security consulting company, Nemex Enterprises Inc., by implying it illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021. Young believes CNN "destroyed his reputation and business by branding him an illegal profiteer who exploited desperate Afghans" during a Nov. 11, 2021, segment on CNN’s "The Lead with Jake Tapper." 

Young’s legal team is seeking broad access to CNN’s books in order to determine the company’s net worth. CNN objected but Judge William Henry ruled that the plaintiff can have access to data from the pertinent time window, making the objections "sustained in part and overruled in part." 

DEFAMATION LAWSUIT AGAINST CNN COULD EXPOSE COMPANY’S FINANCIAL SECRETS AS COURT SEEKS TO EXPOSE NET WORTH

In a court document obtained by Fox News Digital, Judge Henry ordered that the plaintiff’s "financial discovery requests shall be limited to the time period from September 2021 to the present, except as to documents that can only be produced on a yearly basis, in which case the applicable time period will be from January 1, 2021, to the present."

This comes after Judge Henry previously agreed with Young’s lead counsel Vel Freedman that CNN should hand over sensitive financial information that the cable network presented to its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

CNN is also "required to produce documents relating to the effect of the specific publications at issue in this lawsuit and further republication by CNN employees on CNN’s market power, market share, or influence," according to the judge. 

Judge Henry ruled plaintiffs "may serve a subpoena on Warner Bros. Discovery" to obtain relevant documents. 

Counsel for Young and CNN did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

CNN TURNS OVER INTERNAL DOCUMENTS AS PART OF HIGH-STAKES DEFAMATION SUIT

The CNN segment at the center of 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 face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success."

Tapper tossed to Marquardt, who said "desperate Afghans are being exploited" and need to pay "exorbitant, often impossible amounts" to flee the country. Marquardt then singled out Young, putting a picture of his face on the screen and saying his company was asking for $75,000 to transport a vehicle of passengers to Pakistan for $14,500 per person to end up in the United Arab Emirates.

"Prices well beyond the reach of most Afghans," Marquardt told viewers. 

No other people or companies were named other than Young, who alleged that CNN, using the terms "black market," "exploit" and "exorbitant," inaccurately painted him as a bad actor preying on desperate people. 

CNN FACES DEFAMATION SUIT OVER AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL STORY: 'EVIDENCE OF ACTUAL MALICE'

Earlier this year, judges with the First District Court of Appeal for the State of Florida ruled on June 12 that Young offered enough evidence that he was able to move forward with the defamation suit.

The judges noted that Young provided "a message exchange he had with Marquardt just hours before publication where he advised there were factual inaccuracies in the reporting" but "CNN published anyway." 

Last week, CNN’s legal team turned over an initial batch of documents that the plaintiff's legal team argued were relevant to determine the company’s ability to pay.

A civil trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 6, 2025, in front of Judge Henry in the Circuit Court for Bay County, Florida.