CNN Chief National Security correspondent Alex Marquardt is leaving the outlet after eight years, after his reporting on Navy veteran Zachary Young cost CNN $5 million following a defamation suit.
"Some personal news: I’m leaving CNN after 8 terrific years. Tough to say goodbye but it’s been an honor to work among the very best in the business. Profound thank you to my comrades on the National Security team & the phenomenal teammates I’ve worked with in the US and abroad," Marquardt wrote.
Former CNN correspondent Oliver Darcy said that CNN had "dismissed" Marquardt, "citing editorial differences."
Marquardt was at the center of a defamation case filed against CNN by Young, who in 2021 was working to evacuate Afghans during the Biden administration's chaotic military withdrawal from that nation. Per the Daily Mail, Marquardt wrote to members of the team that worked on the November 2021 report, "We're gonna nail this Zachary Young mf**ker." The message was part of texts that were used against Marquardt in the case.
Marquardt’s report was aired on the Lead with Jake Tapper, the episode in which it premiered opened with Tapper claiming that Afghans attempting to flee the nation "face[d] a black market full of promises, demand of exorbitant fees and no guarantee of safety or success." Tapper then cut to Marquardt, who claimed that an Afghan man located in the US had found people on Facebook charging $10,000 to evacuate people from Afghanistan.
He claimed that "desperate Afghans are now being exploited," and used b-roll that featued a LinkedIn post from Young. Young had said during the trial that he never accepted money from those needing rescue, and that he had relied on corporate and NGO sponsorships to help.
CNN issued an apology, retraction, and removed the segment after Young filed his lawsuit in 2022, which came to a conclusion in January.
In an interview recorded outside of court, Marquardt said he did "not necessarily" agree with the outlet issuing an apology and "did not believe [the report] was an error."
One juror said that the testimony was the final straw for her, after being put off by the texts between the correspondent and his team that suggested they were out to get Young.
"[Marquardt] was arrogant. He acted as though he really didn't need to be there," she said in an interview after the case concluded. "Like he was far too important to be sitting there on the witness stand. [The] 'I don't feel the need to apologize,' we heard that over and over and over."
She later added, "It was obvious to the entire jury that [Marquardt] was out to get him."
