Navy veteran who won CNN defamation case appeals lawsuit against the Associated Press over 'smuggling' claim

The U.S. Navy veteran who successfully sued CNN for defamation earlier this year continued his crusade against the media on Tuesday when appealing his defamation suit against the Associated Press. 

A panel of three judges on Florida’s First District Court of Appeal heard arguments from both sides after Zachary Young’s defamation lawsuit against the AP was tossed out last year. Young believes he was defamed when AP media reporter David Bauder wrote that "Young’s business helped smuggle people out of Afghanistan" when covering the CNN trial in a January 2025 article. 

The AP’s counsel, Charles Tobin, dismissed the organization’s own style when Judge L. Clayton Roberts said, "It says ‘smuggling’ is an illegal activity."

JUDGE TOSSES LATEST DEFAMATION SUITS FROM NAVY VET WHO BEAT CNN, SAYS SOME SEQUELS ‘SHOULD NOT BE MADE’

The AP Stylebook is widely considered the industry standard for journalists and used in newsrooms throughout the world. 

"It says, ‘human smuggling’ is an illegal activity, or ‘people smuggling,’ the whole point of defining a term, Your Honor, we do this in our briefs every day, is to use the term consistently from case-to-case moment-to-moment within it as you're walking through a brief," Tobin said. 

"The AP did not use the terms in its Stylebook," Tobin continued. "The stylebook… is inapplicable to the circumstances of this case."

NAVY VETERAN WHO PROVED CNN DEFAMED HIM SUES ASSOCIATED PRESS, SAYS HE WAS FALSELY PAINTED AS ‘SMUGGLER’

NewsBusters associate editor Nicholas Fondacaro, who has covered Young’s legal plight since the early days of the CNN lawsuit, was baffled by the argument. 

"Tobin’s argument was eyebrow-raising given that he prefaced his comments with how important it was for legal professionals to have common definitions for words, but then rhetorically tossed away a stylebook for journalists and newsrooms, which provided the same function," Fondacaro wrote. 

Young’s counsel Lisa Glass seemed to agree. 

"We just heard the attorney for the Associated Press get up here and say that its stylebook, which is a handbook for journalists, for students worldwide, does not apply to this case, that its reporter should not be held to what it says," Glass said. "Words matter. The AP created its own stylebook to ensure that."

In January 2025, a Florida jury found that CNN defamed Young 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. 

CNN DEFAMATION JUROR WOULD HAVE AWARDED NAVY VETERAN ‘UP TO $100 MILLION’ BEFORE SETTLEMENT WAS REACHED

Young was awarded $4 million in lost earnings, $1 million in personal damages, and the jury found that punitive damages were also warranted against CNN. A settlement was reached before punitive damages were decided by the jury. 

Judge William Henry of Florida’s 14th Judicial Circuit, who also presided over Young’s CNN trial, dismissed his lawsuit against the AP in September. The judge compared Young’s follow-up lawsuit to movie sequels that "should not be made." 

Young’s legal team appealed, requesting a new judge. A timeframe for a ruling was not provided during Tuesday’s hearing. 

The AP, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital regarding the appeal, has defended its reporting throughout the process. 

"AP’s story was a factual and accurate report on the jury verdict finding in Zachary Young’s favor. We will vigorously defend our reporting against this frivolous lawsuit," an AP spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital.