General Says Navy Vet Became 'Too Risky' After CNN Report

An Army major general testified Friday he would have hired U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, the plaintiff in a high-stakes defamation lawsuit against CNN, before the controversial network report involving him, but not after it aired, saying it made him "too risky."

Young alleges CNN smeared him in a November 2021 report that first aired on "The Lead with Jake Tapper," suggesting he illegally profited off desperate people trying to flee Afghanistan following the Biden administration's military withdrawal, implying he was involved in "black market" dealings and ruining his professional reputation as a result.  

Major Gen. James V. Young, who is not related to the plaintiff, was the first expert witness to take the stand to share his military and intelligence experience, including his knowledge of Afghanistan leading up to the withdrawal and his thoughts on the aftermath.

General Young

He testified that he holds a security clearance but hasn't worked in over a year. On Thursday, a document showing the plaintiff renewed his security clearance caused courtroom chaos when CNN's legal team implied that it contradicted testimony that the plaintiff hasn't worked since the CNN segment aired. 

Fox News Digital reports Maj. Gen. Young also explained how he would often delete messages related to evacuations, which is something CNN's legal team has repeatedly scolded the plaintiff for doing. Additionally, he thought the prices the plaintiff was charging corporations for evacuations from Afghanistan were "reasonable" after CNN labeled such pricing "exorbitant." 

When asked whether he would hire the plaintiff after watching the CNN segment, he replied "no." When he was asked why, that sparked an immediate objection from CNN's defense team that led to a sidebar with Judge William Henry. 

Henry ordered plaintiff attorney Kyle Roche to rephrase the question to ask why Maj. Gen. Young's firm wouldn't retain the plaintiff's services, to which he responded the CNN segment created "risk" and could harm the reputation of anyone who hired the plaintiff.