Judge William Henry questioned the credibility of CNN’s lead counsel David Axelrod on Wednesday and chastised him for repeatedly referring to U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young as a “liar.”
Young sued CNN after it published a report in November of 2021 that allegedly falsely accused Young of exploiting desperate Afghans seeking evacuation from Afghanistan on a “black market.” A court found that Young “did not act illegally or criminally.” Young testified that he lost work as a result of the allegedly defamatory report.
Throughout the course of the trial, Axelrod argued that Young had maintained a security clearance after CNN’s report and therefore Young must have lied about being able to obtain work in the subsequent months. But Young’s counsel informed the court that Young has since learned (after testifying) that he actually lost his security clearance in 2022.
Young’s counsel then tried to add an additional witness from Helios Global (which held Young’s security clearance prior to 2022) to testify about the status of Young’s security clearance. Young’s counsel argued that the jury may be under the impression that Young currently holds a security clearance (and is therefore eligible for work) due to CNN’s alleged misrepresentations.
Axelrod objected and argued he did not mislead the jury about Young’s security clearance status, but Henry slammed Axelrod for the “blatant misrepresentation” that allegedly equated Young’s security clearance with an employment contract, according to Fox News. Henry also lambasted Axelrod’s representation of the security clearance document, noting how Axelrod at one point implied the document was a “smoking gun” before later contradicting himself.
“Right now, your credibility with me, Mr. Axelrod, is about none,” Henry said.
Henry also turned to earlier comments from Axelrod in which he smeared Young as a liar and alleged that Young brought a fraudulent suit. Axelrod alleged that Young “lied” when he said he was unable to obtain work following the CNN report.
“You called him a liar multiple times there,” Henry pointed out, reading from the transcript. Henry returned to his chambers to deliberate what to do next before returning to the bench.
“Mr. Axelrod, I don’t know how many times in this transcript, I didn’t bring the paper back with me, how many times you called Mr. Young a liar,” Henry said. “But yet, in his deposition, he acknowledged having his security being held by Helios Global, which is exactly what that document is and which was exactly what he testified to.”
“I think an apology from you is clearly in order to Mr. Young for the number of times in front of this court, and streamed around the world, that you called Mr. Young a liar,” Henry said, adding he was “concerned with the level of professionalism, or lack thereof,” from both parties in the lawsuit.
Before jurors were brought into the courtroom Henry also upped the fine for personal insults hurled from $100 to $1,000.
