The last thing troubled news network CNN needs is a billion buck lawsuit. They’re so desperate to make Zachary Young go away that they resorted to using Sharia law in a motion to dismiss his case. The Florida court wasn’t impressed. The Navy veteran who sued the network can proceed with his defamation action.
CNN pleads Taliban law
Everyone can see that a motion the lawyers for CNN filed was a desperate “last-ditch” effort. In an attempt to weasel out of a defamation case, they claim the military veteran plaintiff “violated Taliban law.” Who cares? He sued them in Florida, not Afghanistan.
Court documents confirm that the judicial panel denied the network’s motion to dismiss Zachary Young’s lawsuit. “The matter will move forward as scheduled, with a tentative January 6, 2025 civil jury trial date on the calendar.”
CNN allegedly smeared the decorated vet, ruining his reputation. The liberal leaning network falsely portrayed him “as a profiteer of war crimes.”
CNN is trying to use Taliban Law to dismiss the lawsuit by Navy veteran Zachary Young https://t.co/TWDoJMGBYu
— Phil Holloway ✈️ (@PhilHollowayEsq) August 16, 2024
Jake Tapper hosted the episode where the false claims were aired. That means he’s in trouble, too. It happened “during a discussion about America’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
Young was “a private security consultant who served in the U.S. Navy.” His lawsuit alleges that CNN accused him of charging “exorbitant prices to smuggle people out of the country amid the return of Taliban rule.”
The lawyers had their paralegals type up a reasonably tight set of accusations. Ones that justify asking $1 billion in damages. While the network is expected to settle for a lot less, it will still cost them a bundle. They were hoping to get out for free with their Sharia law defense but they aren’t getting off the hook that easy.

A false narrative
The damage to Mr. Young, his reputation and his career all happened at the beginning of the show. “The clear effect of the first few seconds of the Segment is to set up a false narrative of Young serving desperate Afghans on an illegal market—which he never did.” CNN was brutal.
His previous court filings describe how Young “claims to have helped 20 women flee Afghanistan through his company, Nemex.” He didn’t risk his life for free. Young “charged $14,500 for each evacuation, but only took payments from corporations.”
Lawyers for CNN already admit that the story was “full of holes like Swiss cheese” and “not ready for primetime.” The only thing they could use as defense is an argument that their accusation Young engaged in “black market” activity is valid enough that they think a jury would agree.
CNN Loses Another Motion In Defamation Case As Court Orders Tapper To Appear
We previously discussed the defamation lawsuit against CNN and the curious effort to use Taliban law to dismiss the lawsuit by Navy veteran Zachary Young. The litigation has not been going well for the… pic.twitter.com/qDIr22q089
— Melissa Hallman (@dotconnectinga) August 16, 2024
The clincher to their argument sent the panel of judges into a howling fit of laughter.
Just before the parties were due to sit down for a settlement conference in June, CNN filed the dismiss motion arguing that the activities Young “orchestrated and funded” involved “moving women out of Afghanistan.”
Those actions, the network’s lawyers scold “almost certainly were illegal under Taliban rule.” Here in America, the “government does not recognize the Taliban or its interpretation of Sharia law.” Motion denied.