Furious Exchange between Jake Tapper and Navy Veteran's Lawyer During Deposition Shown to Jurors in Blockbuster CNN Defamation Trial: 'You Can Think Whatever You Want'
Fuzz Hogan is currently employed as a senior director with CNN's standards and practices department.
Jan. 15 2025, Published 5:50 p.m. ET
A furious exchange between Jake Tapper and the Navy veteran's lawyer has been shown in the blockbuster CNN defamation trial.
RadarOnline.com can reveal a Florida jury saw the exchange between the CNN anchor and an attorney representing the veteran who has accused the network of defamation.
CNN is being accused of defamation by Young.
Zachary Young, a security contractor who extracted people from Afghanistan, claimed CNN destroyed his reputation by implying that he was "illegally profiting" from helping people flee Afghanistan on the "black market" during the military withdrawal from the country in 2021.
The journalist who made the bombshell accusations on the CNN show, Alex Marquardt, took the stand on Monday.
Then, in a previously recorded deposition, Tapper was heard by the jurors on Tuesday.
During Tapper's deposition, the plaintiff’s attorney asked: "I'm just talking here about whether or not a news organization that tells willful lies is a cancer on society? Can you answer that question?"
Tapper replied: "I mean, you can think whatever you want."
After Young’s attorney interrupted him, Tapper fired: "I made a statement about the months — the non-hypothetical monthslong campaign against Dominion Voting, against Smartmatic, against all the people that participated in the process in 2020. It was [a] monthslong campaign that was undermining democracy. For the benefit of one particular political leader. And that comment I made?
"I made. And I stand by it. But I don’t have answers to extend the metaphor to every single person, organization, and situation in journalism. So, I just don’t even know what you want me to say here."
Tapper previously recorded deposition, Tapper was heard by the jurors on Tuesday.
Young’s attorney said: "You and your counsel claimed you answered the question but I don’t think you did. The question was straightforward. And it was: 'Does a media organization that tells willful lies that’s not about an election, is that a cancer on society?' Let me say it cleanly: Is a media organization that publishes willful lies about things — other than an election — a cancer on society?"
Tapper fired back: "You’re asking me to comport with a metaphor that I used a year ago specifically about one specific news — or purported news — organization. And the opinion I had about how damaging those lies were to the American democracy.
"And you’re asking me to take that metaphor and extend it to any other time that any other media organization that lied willingly."
Young claimed the network 'destroyed his reputation.'
The remarks are regarding the case when Fox News paid $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems to prevent a trial in the voting machine company’s lawsuit about how the network promoted lies about the 2020 election results.
Dominion sued the network for $1.6 billion and claimed the outlet damaged their reputation by promoting conspiracy theories that claimed equipment switched votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.
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As previously reported, Young sued CNN in a $1 billion defamation suit after he claimed the network "destroyed his reputation" because of the remarks.
The lawsuit claimed CNN singled out his work and branded him as someone who exploited "desperate Afghans" who were trying to flee their home country as the Taliban took over.
