Navy veteran's $500M defamation lawsuit against Associated Press advances with first hearing

Zachary Young’s high-stakes defamation suit against the Associated Press continues to inch on successful Bay County, Florida, arsenic the U.S. Navy veteran seeks to wide his name. 

Young successfully sued CNN for defamation earlier this twelvemonth aft saying the web smeared him by implying helium illegally profited from helping people flee Afghanistan on the "black market" during the Biden administration's disastrous 2021 subject withdrawal. 

When covering the proceedings successful January, Associated Press media newsman David Bauder wrote that "Young’s concern helped smuggle radical retired of Afghanistan."

Young’s ineligible squad has said that the Associated Press nonfiction "went adjacent further than CNN’s falsehoods," and the seasoned is seeking astir $500 cardinal successful a defamation suit against the AP. 

NAVY VETERAN SEEKS NEARLY $500 MILLION IN DEFAMATION LAWSUIT AGAINST ASSOCIATED PRESS

U.S. Navy Veteran Zachary Young, seen present successful Pakistan successful the aboriginal 2000s, is suing the Associated Press for defamation.  (Zachary Young)

On Monday, Young’s ineligible squad responded to the AP’s question to dismiss the suit. The AP had insisted Young’s ailment is "without merit" and unjustly challenges the outlet's escaped code rights, but the Navy veteran’s ineligible squad believes the question failed to code "core issues."

"It does not quality that the word ‘human smuggling’ implies transgression conduct, nor does it connection immoderate valid mentation for its usage of that term, adjacent though a tribunal antecedently ruled that Mr. Young committed nary crime. AP’s ain Stylebook defines ‘smuggling’ arsenic illegal," Young’s attorney, Daniel Lustig, wrote. 

"Dozens of AP articles bespeak that usage. Just days earlier this filing, AP published a communicative astir a antheral sentenced to 25 years successful situation for ‘smuggling people,’ reinforcing that understanding," Lustig continued. "Even aft receiving notice, AP refused to retract oregon revise the statement, not adjacent to usage a much close word specified arsenic ‘evacuate’ oregon ‘rescue.’"

NAVY VETERAN WHO PROVED CNN DEFAMED HIM SUES ASSOCIATED PRESS, SAYS HE WAS FALSELY PAINTED AS ‘SMUGGLER’

U.S. Navy seasoned Zachary Young settled with CNN for an undisclosed magnitude aft a assemblage recovered helium was defamed by the network. Young filed a defamation suit against the AP for "an nonfiction that went adjacent further than CNN’s falsehoods."  (Jessica Costescu)

Young’s lawyer believes the astir "notable" portion of the AP’s question to disregard is that it ne'er denied that "smuggling" refers to a transgression act.

"Instead, it argues that the statement, successful context, was not defamatory. That is not a defense, it is simply a concession. Under Florida law, if a connection is reasonably susceptible of a defamatory meaning, it is simply a question for the jury, not 1 to beryllium resolved connected a question to dismiss. AP’s effort to invoke the anti-SLAPP statute to shield specified a connection is some legally unsupported and fundamentally flawed," Lustig wrote. 

Young’s ineligible squad has besides filed a question to amend the ailment to see punitive damages. The 242-page filing suggested this lawsuit "exemplifies the precise script successful which punitive damages are warranted to punish and deter specified consciously indifferent behaviour by a media organization." 

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Zachary Young’s ineligible squad responded to the AP’s question to disregard the suit. (Zachary Young )

On Tuesday, each broadside appeared for the archetypal proceeding successful beforehand of 14th Judicial Circuit Court Judge William S. Henry, who besides presided implicit the CNN trial. The Case Management Conference, conducted implicit Zoom, was mostly procedural and offered a accidental for each enactment to explicate wherefore respective motions should beryllium heard. 

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Judge Henry scheduled the adjacent proceeding for July 3. He is expected to regularisation connected some the AP’s question to disregard and Young’s amended complaint.

The AP has referred to the suit arsenic "frivolous" successful past statements to the press.