Associated Press moves to dismiss defamation claim from veteran who defeated CNN in court
The Associated Press filed a motion to dismiss U.S. Navy Veteran Zachary Young's defamation lawsuit on Monday, insisting the complaint is "without merit" and unjustly challenges the outlet's free speech rights.
Young successfully sued CNN for defamation earlier this year after saying the network smeared him by implying he illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan on the "black market" during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021. When covering the trial in January, Associated Press media reporter David Bauder wrote that "Young's business helped smuggle people out of Afghanistan."
Young's legal team has said that the Associated Press article "went even further than CNN's falsehoods," and updated the original complaint to include 40 AP articles that use the term "smuggling" to describe criminal conduct. The court previously ruled that Young did nothing illegal, and he is seeking nearly $500 million in a defamation suit against the AP.
Navy Veteran Seeks Nearly $500 Million In Defamation Lawsuit Against Associated Press
The AP believes Young's suit should be tossed.
"It is premised on the facially implausible contention that The AP made the exact same accusation—that Young had engaged in criminal activities in connection with his Afghan evacuations—that the Article made clear a jury had rejected in the CNN case," AP's legal team wrote in the motion to dismiss.
Read On The Fox News App
"The AP now asks the Court to dismiss this lawsuit with prejudice under Florida's AntiSLAPP statute… which protect 'the rights of free speech in connection with public issues,'" the motion continued. "This is a classic SLAPP lawsuit – a 'lawsuit that lack[s] legal merit but threatens to chill speech by imposing crushing legal expenses.'"
The AP believes its reporting is protected by Florida's fair report privilege, which its legal team wrote "safeguards the ability of the press to report about legal and other official proceedings." In addition, the AP's legal team wrote that the article "cannot be reasonably read as conveying anything defamatory" about Young or his company, Nemex Enterprises.
Navy Veteran Who Proved Cnn Defamed Him Sues Associated Press, Says He Was Falsely Painted As 'Smuggler'
Young's attorney, Daniel Lustig, said the motion to dismiss was expected, and he expects the Navy veteran to prevail.
"AP's position is that words don't mean what they mean. That was CNN's defense. Zachary Young spent nearly three years fighting that fiction and after a court ruled in his favor and a jury affirmed it, the matter should have ended. But now he's back in the same courtroom, facing the same defense, advanced by the same lawyers, insisting once again that a plainly criminal accusation doesn't actually accuse him of a crime," Lustig told Fox News Digital.
"If this feels familiar, it's because it is. The only thing that's changed is the logo on the letterhead. AP called Mr. Young a human smuggler, broadcast it around the world, and now claim they meant it in a nice way. When he asked them to correct a single word, they refused," he continued.
Cnn Defamation Juror Would Have Awarded Navy Veteran 'Up To $100 Million' Before Settlement Was Reached
The AP has referred to the lawsuit as "frivolous" in past statements to the press. The motion was filed with the 14th Judicial Circuit Court in Bay County, Florida, the same court where Young prevailed against CNN.
Young is seeking at least $18 million in economic loss, $50-75 million in reputational harm, $5-10 million in emotional distress and $300-350 million in punitive damages, according to a Notice of Filing.Original article source: Associated Press moves to dismiss defamation claim from veteran who defeated CNN in court
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
18 minutes ago
- CNN
Here's what the US used to attack Iran
The US launched a significant military operation targeting Iran's nuclear facilities. CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton breaks down which weapons were deployed, including the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) for the first time in US combat history.
CNN
18 minutes ago
- CNN
Here's what the US used to attack Iran
The US launched a significant military operation targeting Iran's nuclear facilities. CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton breaks down which weapons were deployed, including the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) for the first time in US combat history.
San Francisco Chronicle
28 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
What to know about the Iranian nuclear sites that were hit by US strikes
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. forces have attacked three Iranian nuclear and military sites, further upping the stakes in the Israel-Iran war. President Donald Trump said the strikes, which he described as 'very successful,' had hit the Natanz, Fordo and Isfahan sites, with Fordo being the primary target. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran confirmed there were attacks early Sunday at all three nuclear sites. Israel launched a surprise barrage of attacks on sites in Iran on June 13, which Israeli officials said was necessary to head off what they claimed was an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs. Iran, which has long insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, has retaliated with a series of missile and drone strikes in Israel, while Israel has continued to strike sites in Iran. The U.S. and Iran had been in talks that could have resulted in the U.S. lifting some of its crushing economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran drastically limiting or ending its enrichment of uranium. Until Saturday, Washington had helped shoot down Iranian strikes on Israel but had not launched direct attacks on Iran. Here's a look at the sites Trump said the U.S. struck and their importance to Iran's nuclear program. Natanz enrichment facility Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz, located some 220 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Tehran, is the country's main enrichment site and had already been targeted by Israeli airstrikes. Uranium had been enriched to up to 60% purity at the site — a mildly radioactive level but a short step away from weapons grade — before Israel destroyed the aboveground part of the facility, according to the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. Another part of the facility on Iran's Central Plateau is underground to defend against potential airstrikes. It operates multiple cascades, or groups of centrifuges working together to more quickly enrich uranium. The IAEA has said it believes that most if not all of these centrifuges were destroyed by an Israeli strike that cut off power to the site. The IAEA said those strikes caused contamination only at the site itself, not the surrounding area. Iran also is burrowing into the Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā, or Pickax Mountain, which is just beyond Natanz's southern fencing. Natanz has been targeted by the Stuxnet virus, believed to be an Israeli and American creation, which destroyed Iranian centrifuges. Two separate attacks, attributed to Israel, also have struck the facility. Fordo enrichment facility Iran's nuclear facility at Fordo is located some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tehran. It also hosts centrifuge cascades, but isn't as big as Natanz. Its construction began at least in 2007, according to the IAEA, although Iran only informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog about the facility in 2009 after the U.S. and allied Western intelligence agencies became aware of its existence. Buried under a mountain and protected by anti-aircraft batteries, Fordo appears designed to withstand airstrikes. Military experts have said it could likely only be targeted by 'bunker buster' bombs — a term for bombs that are designed to penetrate deep below the surface before exploding — such as the latest GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb in the American arsenal. The roughly 30,000 pound (13,600 kilogram) precision-guided bomb is designed to attack deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels. The U.S. has only configured and programed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver that bomb, according to the Air Force. The B-2 is only flown by the Air Force, and is produced by Northrop Grumman, meaning that Washington would have to be involved in such an operation. Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center The facility in Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) southeast of Tehran, employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It also is home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with the country's atomic program. Israel has struck buildings at the Isfahan nuclear site, among them a uranium conversion facility. The IAEA said there has been no sign of increased radiation at the site. Other nuclear sites Iran has several other sites in its nuclear program that were not announced as targets in the U.S. strikes. Iran's only commercial nuclear power plant is in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, some 750 kilometers (465 miles) south of Tehran. Iran is building two other reactors like it at the site. Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced in Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the IAEA. The Arak heavy water reactor is 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran. Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons. Iran had agreed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to relieve proliferation concerns. The Tehran Research Reactor is at the headquarters of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the civilian body overseeing the country's atomic program. It initially required highly enriched uranium but was later retrofitted to use low-enriched uranium over proliferation concerns. ___ The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. ___
