{"id":135189,"date":"2026-06-10T12:42:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T16:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/navy-veteran-who-won-cnn-defamation-case-appeals-lawsuit-against-the-associated-press-over-smuggling-claim-135189"},"modified":"2026-06-10T12:42:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T16:42:28","slug":"navy-veteran-who-won-cnn-defamation-case-appeals-lawsuit-against-the-associated-press-over-smuggling-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/navy-veteran-who-won-cnn-defamation-case-appeals-lawsuit-against-the-associated-press-over-smuggling-claim-135189","title":{"rendered":"Navy veteran who won CNN defamation case appeals lawsuit against the Associated Press over ‘smuggling’ claim"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The U.S. Navy veteran who\u00a0successfully sued CNN<\/a>\u00a0for defamation earlier this year continued his crusade against the media on Tuesday when appealing his defamation suit\u00a0against the Associated Press.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A panel of three judges on Florida\u2019s First District Court of Appeal heard arguments from both sides after Zachary Young\u2019s defamation lawsuit against the AP was tossed out last year. Young believes he was defamed when AP media reporter David Bauder wrote that “Young\u2019s business helped smuggle people out of Afghanistan” when covering the CNN trial in a January 2025 article.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The AP\u2019s counsel, Charles Tobin, dismissed the organization\u2019s own style when Judge L. Clayton Roberts said, “It says \u2018smuggling\u2019 is an illegal activity.”<\/p>\n

JUDGE TOSSES LATEST DEFAMATION SUITS FROM NAVY VET WHO BEAT CNN, SAYS SOME SEQUELS \u2018SHOULD NOT BE MADE\u2019<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The AP Stylebook is widely considered the industry standard for journalists and used in newsrooms throughout the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It says, \u2018human smuggling\u2019 is an illegal activity, or \u2018people smuggling,\u2019 the whole point of defining a term, Your Honor, we do this in our briefs every day, is to use the term consistently from case-to-case moment-to-moment within it as you’re walking through a brief,” Tobin said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The AP did not use the terms in its Stylebook,” Tobin continued. “The stylebook\u2026 is inapplicable to the circumstances of this case.”<\/p>\n

NAVY VETERAN WHO PROVED CNN DEFAMED HIM SUES ASSOCIATED PRESS, SAYS HE WAS FALSELY PAINTED AS \u2018SMUGGLER\u2019<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

NewsBusters associate editor Nicholas Fondacaro, who has covered Young\u2019s legal plight since the early days of the CNN lawsuit, was baffled by the argument.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Tobin\u2019s argument was eyebrow-raising given that he prefaced his comments with how important it was for legal professionals to have common definitions for words, but then rhetorically tossed away a stylebook for journalists and newsrooms, which provided the same function,” Fondacaro wrote<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Young\u2019s counsel Lisa Glass seemed to agree.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We just heard the attorney for the Associated Press get up here and say that its stylebook, which is a handbook for journalists, for students worldwide, does not apply to this case, that its reporter should not be held to what it says,” Glass said. “Words matter. The AP created its own stylebook to ensure that.”<\/p>\n

In January 2025, a Florida jury found that\u00a0CNN defamed Young<\/a>\u00a0by implying he illegally profited when helping people\u00a0flee Afghanistan\u00a0on the “black market” during the\u00a0Biden administration’s\u00a0military withdrawal from the country in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CNN DEFAMATION JUROR WOULD HAVE AWARDED NAVY VETERAN \u2018UP TO $100 MILLION\u2019 BEFORE SETTLEMENT WAS REACHED<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Young was awarded $4 million in lost earnings, $1 million in personal damages, and the jury found that punitive damages were also warranted against CNN.\u00a0A settlement was reached before punitive damages were decided by the jury.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Judge William Henry of Florida\u2019s 14th Judicial Circuit, who also presided over Young\u2019s CNN trial, dismissed his lawsuit against the AP in September. The judge compared Young\u2019s follow-up lawsuit to movie sequels that “should not be made.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Young\u2019s legal team appealed, requesting a new judge. A timeframe for a ruling was not provided during Tuesday\u2019s hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The AP, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital regarding the appeal, has defended its reporting throughout the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“AP\u2019s story was a factual and accurate report on the jury verdict finding in Zachary Young\u2019s favor. We will vigorously defend our reporting against this frivolous lawsuit,” an AP spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/navy-veteran-won-cnn-defamation-case-appeals-lawsuit-associated-press-smuggling-claim <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. Navy veteran who\u00a0successfully sued CNN\u00a0for defamation earlier this year continued his crusade against the media on Tuesday when appealing his defamation suit\u00a0against the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-135189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNavy veteran who won CNN defamation case appeals lawsuit against the Associated Press over 'smuggling' claim - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/navy-veteran-who-won-cnn-defamation-case-appeals-lawsuit-against-the-associated-press-over-smuggling-claim-135189\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Navy veteran who won CNN defamation case appeals lawsuit against the Associated Press over 'smuggling' claim - 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