Navy veteran who defeated CNN fights Associated Press over 'smuggle' claim in defamation lawsuit

FIRST ON FOX - U.S. Navy seasoned Zachary Young and the Associated Press proceed to conflict done tribunal filings up of a captious July 3 proceeding successful the high-stakes defamation lawsuit.

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 took contented with the word "smuggle," and said that the Associated Press nonfiction "went adjacent further than CNN’s falsehoods" by utilizing a word that "implies criminality." 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 is suing the Associated Press.  (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)

The AP past week filed a reply successful further enactment of its question to dismiss, citing Florida’s Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) statute and calling Young’s assertion "meritless."

"Young concedes that the basal premise of his lawsuit—that the connection ‘smuggle’ necessarily, and successful each contexts, conveys transgression wrongdoing—is incorrect," the AP’s ineligible squad wrote. "This suit should extremity here."

Young’s ineligible squad fired backmost connected Monday with a scathing response. 

"Notably, AP’s reply little successful enactment of its Motion to Dismiss inaccurately asserts that Plaintiff ‘concedes’ the connection ‘smuggle’ does not needfully connote transgression wrongdoing. That is false. Plaintiff does not concede and has ne'er conceded that the word ‘smuggle’ oregon ‘human Smuggling’ is ambiguous oregon context-dependent. To the contrary, Plaintiff’s presumption is that the word is facially defamatory successful modern journalistic and ineligible contexts, and universally understood to connote transgression conduct," Young’s ineligible squad wrote.   

"That decision does not necessitate a assemblage to resoluteness disputed meanings. It is simply a substance of law, supported by AP’s ain Stylebook, its accordant usage successful transgression reporting, and the ineligible consequences the word carries nether national and planetary law," they added.

"In fact, the AP Stylebook’s explanation of ‘human smuggling’ and ‘people smuggling’ is telling. It shows that the Associated Press knew precisely what it was doing erstwhile it chose to usage those circumstantial presumption to escalate the mendacious accusations against Plaintiffs," the reply little continued. 

"Instead of reporting the existent news, which was that a assemblage recovered CNN liable for defaming Plaintiff and that Plaintiff had been cleared of immoderate wrongdoing, AP chose to absorption its communicative connected a mendacious insinuation of criminality. This was not a lapse successful judgment. It was a deliberate distortion of the facts that powerfully supports an inference of existent malice," it added. 

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)

The reply little states the AP "framed it arsenic ‘news,’ but it was truly ‘litigation by byline.’" 

"Instead of reporting honestly connected the result of the CNN case, they tried to repackage the aforesaid mendacious accusation nether the guise of covering a lawsuit. It wasn’t journalism. It was retaliation," Young’s ineligible squad wrote. 

The reply little besides lays retired Young’s assertion that an mean scholar would judge "someone financed this amerciable operation," which "tracks precisely with AP’s ain explanation of smuggling."

"The Associated Press didn’t conscionable disregard the jury’s decision; they tried to overrule it. They saw the verdict, saw the ruling, and chose to escalate the aforesaid accusation that had already been proven false. That wasn’t journalism. It was retaliation," lawyer Daniel Lustig told Fox News Digital. 

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

Judge William S. 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 statements to the press. 

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"The Associated Press thought they could fell down privilege and the First Amendment portion repeating a knowingly mendacious claim. They were wrong. Mr. Young held CNN accountable, and helium volition bash the aforesaid with the AP and with others who made the aforesaid choice," Michael Pike, different lawyer from Young’s team, told Fox News Digital.