Contractor testifies to damage done by CNN story on 'black market' Afghanistan evacuations

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (CN) — As chaos enveloped Afghanistan in August 2021 when the United States withdrew from the war-torn country, Navy veteran and security consultant Zachary Young saw an opportunity to help, he testified in a Florida county court on Wednesday.

Young, who had previously worked for military contractors Blackwater and Dyncorp International, decided to put his skills to use evacuating Afghans as the Taliban took over. But Young became the only private contractor named in a CNN story that insinuated contractors were accepting “exorbitant” fees for evacuations, prompting his defamation lawsuit accusing the network of ruining his reputation and business, Nemex Enterprises.

On the stand Wednesday, Young told jurors he never accepted money from individual Afghans and instead relied on sponsorships from corporations and NGOs to help rescue those fleeing the war-torn country.

“I didn’t make them pay anything,” Young, 49, said about individual Afghans. “I worked with corporations.”

He posted on career networking site LinkedIn, offering to procure evacuations from Afghanistan, court records show.

“If you are a sponsor, WITH FUNDING, serious to evacuate people from Afghanistan on short notice, please reach out,” Young wrote.

But those posts attracted more than just corporations and nongovernmental organizations. Individual Afghans and activists also reached out to Young for help, too.

“What are you charging?” messaged one unidentified Afghan to Young through the site. “And where does this get her?”

Young responded, “75K for one vehicle 5-6 passengers Kabul-Peshawar. Can also facilitate passports and visits and transit to Dushanbe, but again it costs money.”

Young’s post and that message found its way to CNN, who later used it as part of a Nov. 11, 2021, story describing the woes of Afghans trying to flee their country. The segment — reported by CNN national security correspondent Alex Marquardt during “The Lead with Jake Tapper” — included interviews with Afghans claiming some private contractors were charging heavy fees for “black market” evacuations.

After his first post on LinkedIn, Audible Inc. hired Young to facilitate the evacuation of three young women, invoices provided to the court show. Media giant Bloomberg also hired him to aid the evacuation of four women and a child. H.E.R.O Inc., an NGO helping Afghan Christians, also used Young’s services, which included contacting his operatives in the country and overseeing the refugees’ journey from safehouse to safehouse until they left the country.

“It’s like a frog jumping from lily pad to lily pad to lily pad until you get to the border,” Young said. “Every movement, I’m on an oversight level.”

He said that in November 2021, CNN senior reporter Katie Bo Lillis contacted Young while pursuing a story about ways Afghans were trying to flee the country. In his testimony, Young characterizes the interaction as trying to convince the reporter that his for-profit model of extraction works, even though she already made up her mind.

“It seems at this point she was going to attack anything that wasn’t the free model,” he said.

Weeks later, Marquardt only gave Young a day to respond, Young testified.

On Nov. 11, 2021, the segment aired with a banner at the bottom of the screen: “Afghans trying to flee Taliban face black markets, exorbitant fees, no guarantee of safety or success.”

Included in the broadcast was Young’s LinkedIn post and his conversation with the Afghan on LinkedIn that included the price of evacuations through his company.

CNN contends the use of “black markets” did not necessarily mean illegal acts and Marquardt attempted to contact Young days before. In his opening remarks on Tuesday, CNN’s attorney David Axelrod said the network was “tough, but they were fair and accurate.”

Months after the segment aired, CNN issued an on-air apology and the network removed the video from its website, but the damage was done, Young said. His contacts would not answer his calls, he said, and one of his consulting contracts was not renewed.

“I became an outcast,” he said.

But Young said the worst part was the story’s effect on his psyche and family, including his mother and wife.

“I had a complete mental breakdown,” Young told the court, his voice cracking.

“The hardest part is I’m not the man I was,” Young continued through tears. “I’m not the man my wife married. I’m humiliated by this.”

CNN’s will cross-examine Young on Thursday. The trial is expected to take two weeks.

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