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Fox News
13 hours ago
- Business
- Fox News
Alex Marquardt's exit from CNN 'obviously' tied to network's costly defamation trial, insiders say
CNN parted ways with its chief national security correspondent, Alex Marquardt, Monday and many of his now-former colleagues say it's "obviously" tied to the network's costly defamation trial earlier this year. "Obviously, the court case is a core reason why, that is obvious," one CNN insider told Fox News Digital. Marquardt was at the center of a defamation case brought against him and CNN in January by U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young. A Florida jury found that CNN defamed Young and ruled that he could seek punitive damages as a result of a November 2021 report by Marquardt. The report branded Young as a shady profiteer who exploited "desperate Afghans" trying to flee Afghanistan during the Biden administration's chaotic military withdrawal from the Taliban-run country, implying Young was operating on a "black market." The jury had initially awarded Young $5 million in financial and emotional damages before Young and CNN reached an undisclosed settlement, suggesting the network gave Young significantly more money. 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" in punitive damages. "He has not done anything else that is wrong. So if he was terminated, that has to be a core reason why. It's just the logical thing," the CNN staffer said. Despite the certainty among CNN staff that Marquardt's departure was directly linked to Young's settlement, they remained puzzled by the timing since it came nearly five months after the trial. The first staffer said, "I'm not sure how much strategizing is going into things these days." It seemed like Marquardt was in good standing with CNN even after the trial as he continued making regular on-air appearances, most recently last Tuesday. He even served as a fill-in anchor on Memorial Day. "Alex is on our air because he is an experienced, veteran reporter with valuable insights on the news," a CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital in late January after the trial. But according to the Status newsletter, Marquardt's dismissal was the result of a "post-settlement ethics compliance review" launched by CNN earlier this year in which he and others involved in the defamatory report were interviewed. Marquardt was informed about the network's decision on Friday, citing "unspecified editorial differences." The bar for proving defamation in court is historically high as many lawsuits are either dismissed or result in a settlement before going to trial. Young's lawsuit against CNN was a rare instance where a jury did find the network liable for defamation, yet a settlement was later reached. Perhaps it was because of the damning evidence Young's legal team gathered during discovery, much of it involving Marquardt himself. "[W]e gonna nail this Zachary Young mf---er," Marquardt told a colleague in a 2021 message exchange before finishing the report. That comment was repeatedly referenced by Young's attorneys throughout the trial. "I always thought he was a professional. But those internal messages left CNN with no other choice," a second CNN staffer told Fox News Digital. The second CNN staffer insisted, "It's hard in my mind not to make a connection" between Marquardt's abrupt exit and the defamation trial. "He was a chief correspondent. A chief. There was no send off. Nothing like that at all. It all went into the quiet goodnight," the second CNN insider said. "He was a great reporter in the field, really good in war zones. That's what makes it a shame." Marquardt was vague about his sudden exit from CNN, posting on X, "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." CNN declined to comment, citing a policy not to discuss "personnel matters." The network did not respond to additional requests for comment. Marquardt did not respond to requests for 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.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Alex Marquardt leaves CNN after defamation loss
CNN 's lead national security correspondent, Alex Marquardt, has revealed he is leaving the network - four months after he cost it at least $5million for a defamatory report on Navy veteran Zachary Young. 'Some personal news: I'm leaving CNN after 8 terrific years,' Marquardt wrote to followers on X late Monday morning. 'Tough to say goodbye but it's been an honor to work among the very best in the business,' he added. No other details were provided, but sources told former CNN media correspondent Oliver Darcy that Marquardt was fired - citing 'editorial differences' with his higher-ups at the network. CNN declined to comment on the development due to it being a 'personnel matter.' Marquardt, meanwhile, thanked his colleagues on CNN's national security team in his cryptic post - the same team who worked on the November 2021 report that landed him in hot water. It also tarnished CNN's reputation - after jurors ruled Marquardt's report falsely suggested Young illegally profited during the Biden administration's disastrous pullout from Afghanistan . 'We're gonna nail this Zachary Young [expletive]', the longtime correspondent told members of that team in texts used against him in the high-profile case. The text, and a litany of others, saw a six-person jury find CNN guilty of defamation, after Young was repeatedly mentioned during the finished segment from Marquardt that claimed contractors were charging up to $14,000 for 'black market' evacuations. Young said he'd never accepted any money from Afghans who needed rescue and relied on corporate and nongovernmental organization sponsorships to help people flee - facts not included in the report. It aired on the Lead with Jake Tapper, and opened with Tapper claiming Afghans that were trying to flee the surging Taliban insurgency at the time 'face[d] a black market full of promises, demand of exorbitant fees and no guarantee of safety or success.' Tapper then cut to CNN's chief security correspondent Marquardt, who claimed that an Afghan man in the US had found some people on Facebook charging $10,000 to evacuate relatives. Marquardt used that to claim 'desperate Afghans are now being exploited' by 'exorbitant and impossible' amounts, before some b-roll brought up a LinkedIn post from Young advertising his services. Young filed his defamation lawsuit in 2022 and successfully alleged that CNN had damaged his reputation by lying that he was taking advantage of the ill-fated operation. After being threatened by Young, CNN made an apology, before issuing a retraction and removing the segment from public view. But Young, 49, sued anyway. In depositions screened during the hearing that ensued, several senior staffers argued that the network should never have apologized to Young due to Marquardt not specifically saying he was taking advantage of the situation. Jurors felt differently in January, after seeing Marquardt give similar testimony in footage that proved integral to the case. In a sit-down interview recorded outside of court, the correspondent said he did 'not necessarily' agree with the apology and 'did not believe [the report] was an error.' In an interview with Fox News, Katy Svitenko, one of the jurors, said that testimony was the final straw for juror's already put off by texts between Marquardt and his team that suggested they were out to get Young with their piece. '[Marquardt] was arrogant. He acted as though he really didn't need to be there,' the retired schoolteacher said, after the case's conclusion earlier this year. 'Like he was far too important to be sitting there on the witness stand,' she added. '[The] "I don't feel the need to apologize,"' she added, 'we heard that over and over and over.' 'Alex Marquardt had put in an email, "I'm going to nail this Zachary Young,"' she added of an expletive-ridden message sent by Marquardt to staffer Katie Bo Lillis as they mapped out the report in late 2021. 'Wow this guy is an [expletive],' senior reporter Bo Lillis wrote back to her boss, before slamming Young as a 'scumbag'. '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,' Svitenko said. 'It was obvious to the entire jury that [Marquardt] was out to get him.' Marquardt previously served seven years as a foreign correspondent at ABC News, following a first stint with CNN that lasted only a year. Prior to that, Marquardt - who had been a frequent contributor to the Situation Room - worked as a page for NBC. He studied science, technology and international affairs at Georgetown University. The latest to leave the network following the ousters of Jim Acosta and Chris Wallace, has yet to announce any future plans. Within days of the lawsuit loss, CNN laid off hundreds of staffers - months after another 100 cuts that occurred last summer.
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
CNN parts ways with correspondent months after his story cost network millions in defamation suit
Months after his story on a security contractor in Afghanistan resulted in the network paying out millions of dollars to settle a defamation lawsuit, Alex Marquardt announced he was departing CNN as its chief national correspondent. 'Some personal news: I'm leaving CNN after 8 terrific years,' Marquardt tweeted on Monday. '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's public acknowledgment that he was leaving the network came just as Status News founder Oliver Darcy, a former CNN colleague of the veteran correspondent, reported that CNN had dismissed Marquardt over 'editorial differences.' A CNN spokesperson declined to comment on what led to Marquardt's departure, stating that the network does 'not comment on personnel matters.' The spokesperson, however, did state that Marquardt's tweet saying he was leaving CNN was accurate. Earlier this year, however, an investigative story that Marquardt produced and reported about private contractors charging exorbitant fees to desperate refugees looking to flee war-torn Afghanistan was at the center of a defamation complaint filed by Zachary Young, a US Navy veteran who was the only contractor named in the piece. According to Young's lawsuit, the story – which first ran in 2021 – falsely tied him to 'black market' operations in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of American forces from the country. He noted that Marquardt's report suggested that his activities were criminal, leading to his inability to make a living as his reputation had been destroyed. Young testified in court that his business only charged corporate sponsors to evacuate Afghans and did not target individual residents. While the story itself didn't explicitly accuse Young of criminal behavior, on-air graphics when the report was featured on The Lead with Jake Tapper included the term 'black market,' which eventually led the network to issue an apology the following year. However, CNN's correction stating that it 'did not intend to suggest that Mr. Young participated in a black market' was not sufficient for Young, who soon filed his lawsuit against the network. After two days of deliberations following a trial that took place in a deeply conservative Florida district, a jury found CNN liable for defamation and awarded Young $4 million in financial damages and $1 million for emotional damage. The network would then reach a settlement with Young for an undisclosed amount as the trial was set to enter the second phase to determine punitive damages. Marquardt, along with several other network employees, testified during the two-week trial. For his part, he maintained that CNN's initial correction to the story was unnecessary and that it was only done at the behest of the outlet's legal team in hopes of avoiding a lawsuit. 'I reported the facts. I reported what I found. Everything in there was factual, accurate and, I believe, fair,' Marquardt said during the trial, objecting to Young's legal team describing the story as a 'hit piece' against the plaintiff. 'You needed a bad guy for your scandal story,' Young's attorney Devin Freedman asked Marquardt at one point. 'You hated him, did you not?' In the end, it may have been the Slack messages and emails from Marquardt to other editors about the story that were presented in court that sealed the trial's fate. Marquardt and other CNN staffers referred to Young as a 'sh*tbag' with a 'punchable face,' with the now-former CNN correspondent saying he was 'gonna nail this Zachary Young mf***er.' Following the verdict and settlement, a CNN spokesperson told The Independent: 'We remain proud of our journalists and are 100% committed to strong, fearless and fair-minded reporting at CNN, though we will of course take what useful lessons we can from this case.' Reacting to Marquardt's departure from the network, an attorney for Young said that his client 'believes the universe tends to reconcile things in its own time' and that 'some outcomes speak for themselves.' Marquardt, who briefly served as a campaign reporter for CNN in 2008, returned to the network nearly a decade later and was eventually promoted to chief national security correspondent in late 2023. Marquardt also occasionally filled in as an anchor. The case also came at a very perilous time for news organizations, especially as the general public – and particularly conservatives – had grown increasingly discontent with legacy media outlets. With the trial taking place just weeks after ABC News paid Donald Trump $15 million to settle his defamation lawsuit, legal experts urged CNN to reach a settlement with Young, mainly in light of the 'damning' text messages from Marquardt that had been made public. Additionally, a judge ruled that the burden of proof was lower to prove CNN acted with 'actual malice' because Young was not a public figure. said. 'Admit you're wrong. Admit your hyperbole was out of line, and move on.'
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS CNN star leaving network in disgrace after defaming Navy veteran
CNN 's lead national security correspondent, Alex Marquardt, has revealed he is leaving the network - four months after he cost it at least $5million for a defamatory report on Navy veteran Zachary Young. 'Some personal news: I'm leaving CNN after 8 terrific years,' Marquardt wrote to followers on X late Monday morning. 'Tough to say goodbye but it's been an honor to work among the very best in the business,' he added. No other details were provided, but sources told former CNN media correspondent Oliver Darcy that Marquardt was fired - citing 'editorial differences' with his higher-ups at the network. CNN declined to comment on the development due to it being a 'personnel matter.' Marquardt, meanwhile, thanked his colleagues on CNN's national security team in his cryptic post - the same team who worked on the November 2021 report that landed him in hot water. It also tarnished CNN's reputation - after jurors ruled Marquardt's report falsely suggested Young illegally profited during the Biden administration's disastrous pullout from Afghanistan. 'We're gonna nail this Zachary Young mf**ker', the longtime correspondent told members of that team in texts used against him in the high-profile case. CNN's lead national security correspondent, Alex Marquardt, has revealed he is leaving the network four months after he cost it at least $5million for a defamatory report on Navy veteran Zachary Young The text, and a litany of others, saw a six-person jury find CNN guilty of defamation, after Young was repeatedly mentioned during the finished segment from Marquardt that claimed contractors were charging up to $14,000 for 'black market' evacuations. Young said he'd never accepted any money from Afghans who needed rescue and relied on corporate and nongovernmental organization sponsorships to help people flee - facts not included in the report. It aired on the Lead with Jake Tapper, and opened with Tapper claiming Afghans that were trying to flee the surging Taliban insurgency at the time 'face[d] a black market full of promises, demand of exorbitant fees and no guarantee of safety or success.' Tapper then cut to CNN's chief security correspondent Marquardt, who claimed that an Afghan man in the US had found some people on Facebook charging $10,000 to evacuate relatives. Marquardt used that to claim 'desperate Afghans are now being exploited' by 'exorbitant and impossible' amounts, before some b-roll brought up a LinkedIn post from Young advertising his services. Young filed his defamation lawsuit in 2022 and successfully alleged that CNN had damaged his reputation by lying that he was taking advantage of the ill-fated operation. After being threatened by Young, CNN made an apology, before issuing a retraction and removing the segment from public view. But Young, 49, sued anyway. In depositions screened during the hearing that ensued, several senior staffers argued that the network should never have apologized to Young due to Marquardt not specifically saying he was taking advantage of the situation. Jurors felt differently in January, after seeing Marquardt give similar testimony in footage that proved integral to the case. In a sit-down interview recorded outside of court, the correspondent said he did 'not necessarily' agree with the apology and 'did not believe [the report] was an error.' In an interview with Fox News, Katy Svitenko, one of the jurors, said that testimony was the final straw for juror's already put off by texts between Marquardt and his team that suggested they were out to get Young with their piece. '[Marquardt] was arrogant. He acted as though he really didn't need to be there,' the retired schoolteacher said, after the case's conclusion earlier this year. 'Like he was far too important to be sitting there on the witness stand,' she added. '[The] "I don't feel the need to apologize,"' she added, 'we heard that over and over and over.' 'Alex Marquardt had put in an email, "I'm going to nail this Zachary Young,"' she added of an expletive-ridden message sent by Marquardt to staffer Katie Bo Lillis as they mapped out the report in late 2021. 'Wow this guy is an a**hole,' senior reporter Bo Lillis wrote back to her boss, before slamming Young as a 'scumbag'. '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,' Svitenko said. 'It was obvious to the entire jury that [Marquardt] was out to get him.' Marquardt previously served seven years as a foreign correspondent at ABC News, following a first stint with CNN that lasted only a year. Prior to that, Marquardt - who had been a frequent contributor to the Situation Room - worked as a page for NBC. He studied science, technology and international affairs at Georgetown University. The latest to leave the network following the ousters of Jim Acosta and Chris Wallace, has yet to announce any future plans. Within days of the lawsuit loss, CNN laid off hundreds of staffers - months after another 100 cuts that occurred last summer.
Fox News
a day ago
- Business
- Fox News
Alex Marquardt out at CNN after eight years; reporter was at center of costly defamation trial
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.
