Alex Marquardt out at CNN after eight years; reporter was at center of costly defamation trial

Fox News

3 days ago

Longtime CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt is exiting the liberal network less than five months after his reporting helped cost the company millions as a result of a defamation trial, Fox News Digital has confirmed.
"Some personal news: I'm leaving CNN after 8 terrific years. Tough to say goodbye but it's been an honor to work among the very best in the business. Profound thank you to my comrades on the National Security team & the phenomenal teammates I've worked with in the US and abroad," Marquardt posted on X.
Former CNN media correspondent Oliver Darcy reported that Marquardt had been fired over "editorial differences," but Marquardt was vague when announcing the news on social media on Monday.
CNN declined comment, citing a policy not to discuss "personnel matters."
In January, a Bay County, Florida jury found that CNN had defamed U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young and ruled that Young could seek punitive damages as a result of a November 2021 report by Marquardt. Young successfully accused CNN of smearing him by implying he illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan on the "black market" during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country. Young believed CNN "destroyed his reputation and business" by branding him an illegal profiteer who exploited "desperate Afghans" during Marquardt's segment.
CNN and Young agreed to an undisclosed settlement before the jury had a chance to determine punitive damages. The jury had awarded Young $5 million in financial and emotional damages before the settlement was reached. The jury foreman later told Fox News Digital they were prepared to make CNN pay "somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 million to $100 million."
It was also revealed that Marquardt told a colleague "we're gonna nail this Zachary Young mf---er," a message often cited throughout the trial. CNN previously insisted Marquardt remained on the air in the aftermath of the case because he was an "experienced, veteran reporter with valuable insights on the news."
Marquardt did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
In a post-trial interview, Young said he hadn't forgiven Marquardt, calling him out for remaining defiant on the witness stand at the trial.
"We've given Mr. Marquardt plenty of opportunities during deposition and then again at trial to apologize. And, you know, the answer was no," Young told Fox News Digital. "He still stands behind his work. He's very proud of what he did. His hit piece on me to destroy my life."
"He's not my biggest fan," Young added.
On the witness stand, Marquardt insisted his report was not a "hit piece" on Young and that he was proud of his work.
"I wasn't looking to take anyone down. I didn't take anyone down," Marquardt testified.
CNN issued an on-air apology in March 2022 after Young threatened to take legal action. But throughout the trial, Marquardt and several CNN staffers testified they didn't feel the apology was necessary. CNN senior vice president Adam Levine admitted to the jurors that the apology was merely a legal decision.
"Alex Marquardt had put in an email, 'I'm going to nail this Zachary Young.' At that point it seemed as though he had put a target on Mr. Young's back, and he was not going to let up until he reached his goal… It was obvious to the entire jury that he was out to get him," jury foreman Katy Svitenko told Fox News Digital in February.
That was the moment Svitenko decided it was defamation with malice.
"The jury pretty much agreed… those emails among the CNN employees were pretty bad. And not just one, it was several, at various levels throughout the corporation," she said to Fox News Digital.
Young's attorney in a lawsuit against the Associated Press regarding similar reporting, Daniel Lustig, believes the timing of Marquardt's exit is "curious."
"Mr. Marquardt was the lead reporter on the CNN story that a Florida jury found to be false and defamatory. CNN initially retracted the story in an attempt at damage control, but it didn't work. A Florida jury found CNN liable for punitive damages based on less severe language. The Associated Press had full knowledge of that outcome and still chose to escalate the defamatory accusation. Now the CNN reporter has left the network for undisclosed reasons, but the timing is curious. CNN was held accountable, but AP chose to disregard my client's vindication and instead, it escalated a false narrative that had already been dismantled in court. That says everything you need to know about their judgment and what's coming next," Lustig told Fox News Digital.