PANAMA CITY, Fla.—CNN reporter Katie Bo Lillis conceded she was intentionally vague when she messaged Navy veteran Zachary Young about his efforts to evacuate Afghans fleeing their home as the Taliban took control of the country in 2021. In response, jurors on Wednesday asked Lillis a series of unflattering questions, suggesting they may be poised to put CNN on the hook for defaming Young through a piece he says destroyed his business.
Though Lillis did not write the story or deliver the TV segment that landed CNN in court, she was the first to contact Young as her CNN colleagues, including chief national security correspondent Alexander Marquardt, prepared the items. And while CNN eventually attacked Young as an "illegal profiteer" operating within a "black market," Lillis described herself as a "straight shooter" in her early interactions with the Navy veteran, suggested Young would have the opportunity to "make your case to keep your name out of" any story, and assured him she only wanted to talk to get the "lay of the land" on private Afghan evacuations.
Lillis defended her conduct, telling the court, "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar." She also said she stood by the story and did not "mislead" Young. Jurors, however, didn't appear to agree. They peppered Lillis with questions like, "Do you feel Americans are obligated to speak to you?" and, "To what length must someone go to in order not to speak to you?" Another juror asked, "At what point do you accept someone not wishing to speak or comment?" A fourth said, "A chance to make your case to keep your name out of it sounds akin to guilty until proven innocent."
The questions suggest the jurors are hostile to CNN and sympathetic to Young, a troubling development for the left-wing network as it awaits a conclusion to the trial that is expected to come on Friday. Young argues that the report irreparably harmed his reputation and ruined his business, Nemex Enterprises, and is seeking a 10-figure payout—one that jurors appeared open to during jury selection last week.
CNN eventually removed the term "black market" from the online version of the segment, which originally aired Nov. 11, 2021, on The Lead with Jake Tapper. The liberal network also issued an apology, though anchor Pamela Brown delivered it rather than Tapper. Young testified last week that Tapper never apologized to him, and several senior CNN staffers told the court they didn’t believe an apology or a correction were necessary. Marquardt, meanwhile, boasted about his Emmy awards.
CNN has repeatedly faced setbacks throughout the court proceedings, including before the Jan. 6 jury selection. Judge William Henry ruled on Jan. 3, for example, that Young's attorneys could cite Tapper’s disparaging comments about Fox News after its $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.
Those setbacks continued as the trial got underway last week. Messages revealed in court showed that when Young finally learned he was the target of CNN’s report, Marquardt sent him a detailed list of questions and gave him only two hours to respond. Young told him that was "not a realistic deadline" and that "some of your facts/assertions are not accurate, and if they are published, I will seek legal damages." CNN moved forward anyway.
One of Marquardt’s questions involved Young’s ties to the CIA. The Navy veteran revealed in court that he was a former agency operative and said that answering that question alone would have taken more than two hours since he would need to seek guidance. Internal messages from senior CNN staffers showed they were also aware that asking about Young’s CIA ties would take longer than the deadline he was given.
Other messages showed that several senior CNN reporters and editors questioned the article accompanying the video segment. Senior CNN editor Tom Lumley said Marquardt’s story was "full of holes like Swiss cheese" and suggested killing it entirely.
And it wasn’t just the jury that heckled CNN on Wednesday. Henry scolded the network’s lead attorney, David Axelrod, for repeatedly calling Young a "liar" and said he owed the veteran an apology.
"Now your credibility with me, Mr. Axelrod, is about none," Henry said.