The swashbuckling CNN reporter behind a story that defamed a Navy veteran, Zachary Young, by accusing him of “preying” on desperate Afghans trying to flee their country has been quietly fired months after the network was found liable for defamation. 

On Monday, CNN’s chief national security correspondent, Alex Marquardt, posted on X, “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.”

Mr. Marquardt’s departure comes months after CNN suffered a major defeat when a Florida-based jury found the network liable for defaming Mr. Young in a 2021 segment, reported by Mr. Marquardt, about Mr. Young’s efforts to evacuate people from Afghanistan after America’s hasty withdrawal. The network was ordered to pay Mr. Young $4 million for lost wages, $1 million for personal damages, and it reached an undisclosed settlement for punitive damages that may have been far larger.

CNN executives backed Mr. Marquardt throughout the lifespan of the lawsuit, even after the discovery process made public internal emails in which CNN editors said his piece had “more holes than Swiss cheese” and didn’t meet the standards of CNN’s website, even though it was going to air on CNN star Jake Tapper’s program. 

In another internal email that was key to the defense demonstration of CNN’s malice, Mr. Marquardt wrote, “We gonna nail this Zachary young mf—-.” 

As is sometimes the practice when a corporation’s high-profile employee is drawn into a public lawsuit, CNN and its parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery, appear to have waited until things died down to tie up loose ends. A closely read journalist, Oliver Darcy, who previously worked at CNN, reported in his “Status” newsletter that Mr. Marquardt’s firing came after CNN launched an “ethics compliance review” months after the defamation trial. 

The 2021 segment that aired on “The Lead With Jake Tapper” that led to the defamation trial was ostensibly about contractors evacuating people from Afghanistan. However, it only mentioned one contractor: Mr. Young. During the report, a graphic showed the veteran’s face while referencing “black markets,” and it accused him of charging “exorbitant fees.” The graphic also noted his company was asking for $75,000 to transport passengers to Pakistan or $14,500 to transport them to the United Arab Emirates. Mr. Marquardt said in the report that those prices are “well beyond the reach of most Afghans.”

Mr. Young’s attorneys said the allegations in the piece were false, and that Mr. Young was contracted by major corporations to safely extract employees from a dangerous and unstable environment, and that the corporations, not the employees, paid his fees.

The plaintiff’s lawyers presented texts between their client and Mr. Marquardt in which Mr. Young explained to the CNN star how he partnered with companies, such as Amazon’s Audible, that would pay the fees to evacuate specific individuals, such as individuals hunted by the Taliban. In texts with the CNN reporter, Mr. Young explained that Afghans were “expected to have a sponsor pay for them.” Mr. Young also told another reporter who worked on the story how his operation worked. Yet, the network went to air with its original angle. 

After a lengthy trial in Florida, in which Mr. Marquardt testified and expressed no remorse, a jury found CNN liable for defamation and ordered the network to pay Mr. Young $5 million for financial losses. The jury then began to consider how much CNN should pay in punitive damages, which could have reached into the nine figures. But before the jury issued its judgement, CNN and Mr. Young’s attorneys announced they’d reached a confidential settlement.  

Throughout the legal process, CNN executives backed Mr. Marquardt, including a feared executive whom the New York Post called “a tyrant” with “no people skills whatsoever,” Virginia Moseley. But then things changed. Mr. Darcy reports that “a few months ago,” CNN launched a “post-settlement ethics compliance review.” While Mr. Marquardt reportedly believed there was nothing to worry about when it came to the review, he was notified on Friday that he would be fired for “editorial differences.”

Mr. Darcy said that the network did not offer an explanation. An anonymous staffer at CNN complained to “Status” that Mr. Marquardt was “knifed” by executives and questioned why the network was firing him now. The staffer noted that Mr. Marquardt was promoted in 2023, and the network had defended him during the trial, even as the process disclosed messages from reporters that raised doubts about the main thrust of the Young story. 

CNN executives may not have solely been focused on the Young story, according to Mr. Darcy. They had also reportedly previously instructed Mr. Marquardt to limit his social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war, to only share articles published by CNN. Mr. Marquardt’s retweeting seemed to favor news coverage favorable to Hamas, especially regarding the aid situation in Gaza. However, Mr. Darcy reports the firing did not have to do with Gaza. 

“Was it the plan all along to off Marquardt after the trial concluded and the matter was firmly in the rear view mirror? Or did CNN’s additional editorial review actually uncover something so seismic and new that warranted the severe action?” Mr. Darcy asked. 

CNN declined to comment. Mr. Marquardt did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication. 

Mr. Marquardt’s ouster comes as Mr. Young is suing several other outlets for their coverage of his defamation trial. He is suing the Associated Press for an article about his trial that said he worked to “smuggle” people out of Afghanistan.

The AP has defended the article, saying it was a “factual and accurate report on the jury verdict finding in Zachary Young’s favor.”

U.S. News & World Report is also being sued for re-publishing the AP piece. While U.S. News retracted the report, the Navy veteran’s lawyers said the retraction notice did not go “far enough” to correct the record. 

Mr. Young is also suing Puck News for a line in one of its stories that reads, “Panicked locals turned to private contractors to help them flee the country. One such contractor was Zachary Young, a Navy Veteran whose firm was charging people hefty fees—sometimes tens of thousands of dollars—to escape the Taliban.”

In a statement, a spokesman for Puck said, “Puck stands behind our reporting, and we are confident the facts will hold up to any scrutiny.”

Now that he’s got some time on his hands, Mr. Marquardt, the son of a successful financier, may choose to spend it at his family’s 400-year-old estate in Mallorca in the Balearic Islands.