Report: CNN Accused Of Misrepresenting Net Worth For High-Profile Defamation Case

CNN is now being accused of misleading the court regarding documents on its net worth ahead of a high-profile defamation trial.

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.” 

Earlier this year CNN was ordered to comply with a subpoena to provide additional financial information that the cable network presented to its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). (RELATED: Judge Makes Significant Ruling In Navy Veteran’s Defamation Case Against CNN)

Despite CNN’s agreement to present these files, documents reported by Fox News Digital found that “Plaintiffs learned that 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 supply any information about the net worth number CNN provided (but disclaimed) in its interrogatory response. Indeed, CNN’s corporate representative did not provide any information about net worth at all, even though net worth was one of the noticed topics—indeed the main topic,” they read.

The documents also found that the reason CNN couldn’t provide financial information was because “its financial condition cannot be disaggregated—at all—from the financial condition of its parent company” Warner Bros. Discovery.

Young’s legal team is now demanding the court enter an order requiring Warner Bros. Discovery’s financial statements to be used for determining a potential punitive damages award and preclude CNN from introducing any evidence or argument based on its net worth.

The CNN segment at the center of the suit 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 has attempted to have the suit tossed by arguing that there are multiple definitions of the term “black market,” and Young “did not know if he was operating legally or illegally, and that his actions implicated Taliban or Sharia law violations.” (RELATED: CNN Cites Sharia Law In $1 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Defense)

Earlier this year, judges with the First District Court of Appeal for the State of Florida ruled that Young offered evidence “of actual malice, express malice, and a level of conduct outrageous enough” to warrant a trial.

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