CNN’s defamation trial is off to a rocky start…
Judge William Henry forced CNN’s attorney to apologize to the plaintiff in the high-profile defamation trial on Thursday.
Judge Henry strongly criticized CNN’s lead counsel, David Axelrod, on Wednesday and ordered him to apologize to plaintiff Zachary Young for repeatedly calling him a “liar.” Before jurors entered the room on Thursday, Judge Henry asked Axelrod, who is not the CNN on-air pundit with the same name, if he ever apologized as ordered.
“I have not,” Axelrod said.
“Why don’t you do that and I will judge whether it’s an apology… saying, “I’m sorry you were offended by that,’ that’s not an apology,” Judge Henry said.
“Mr. Young, I apologize for the statements I made about the Helios contract and what it represented. I said you lied during your deposition. Your deposition testimony was similar to what we saw in the Conway letter and for that I do apologize,” Axelrod said.
Judge Henry asked Young if he accepted it.
“No, I don’t,” Young responded.
Judge Henry then explained that the Helios contract cited in Axelrod’s apology was an agreement to hold a security clearance, not an agreement to obtain work, so Young was truthful in his deposition despite Axelrod calling him a “liar.”
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 chaotic military withdrawal.
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.”
Judge Henry instructed lead counsel from both sides that they owe $200 apiece from Wednesday’s ordeal after he previously imposed a $100 fine for each time a lawyer makes a personal insult to the other side. The money goes to North Florida Legal Services and the fine has been raised to $1,000 going forward.
On Wednesday, Judge Henry scolded Axelrod’s behavior in a separate incident in the courtroom.
Axelrod referred to him as “Mr. Henry” in court and told him that he was taking it as a “just a slip” for now.
“Now you’re on notice that if you do it again today, I’m taking it as a direct, deliberate, conscious insult,” Judge Henry said.
Judge Henry also told Axelrod on Wednesday, “Right now, your credibility with me, Mr. Axelrod, is about none.”
"This isn't Kindergarten." Judge is chewing out the parties. "Right now your credibility with me, Mr. Alexrod, is about none." #cnndefamationtrial pic.twitter.com/asQaBki8Dw
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) January 15, 2025
Fox News contributor and legal scholar Jonathan Turley wrote that the judge saying Axelrod had zero credibility with him brought things from “bad to worse” for CNN.
“That is never a good thing to hear from a judge. Axelrod apologized, but the damage is clearly considerable,” Turley wrote.
READ NEXT: From Cradle To Congress: Why Proxy Voting Threatens Representation
