Navy veteran suing Associated Press over Afghanistan story says 'smuggling' language implied criminal conduct

"Smuggling" could be the new "black market" in Bay County, Florida, if U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young’s defamation lawsuit against the Associated Press goes to trial. 

Young, who successfully sued CNN for defamation earlier this year, alleged that CNN smeared him 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. Throughout the CNN trial, Young’s legal team pointed out the term "black market" is typically used to describe illegal behavior. 

When covering the trial in January, AP media reporter David Bauder wrote that "Young’s business helped smuggle people out of Afghanistan." Young is now seeking punitive damages in a defamation lawsuit against the AP for "an article that went even further than CNN’s falsehoods," and on Saturday updated the complaint to include 40 Associated Press articles that use the term "smuggling" to describe criminal conduct.

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

Young has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Associated Press. (Jessica Costescu)

Young’s counsel, Daniel Lustig from Pike & Lustig, submitted examples of the AP using the terms "smuggling," "smugglers" and "smuggle" when referring to illegal behavior, often related to deadly human trafficking.

The lawsuit, which alleges the "AP blatantly accused Mr. Young of engaging in criminal human smuggling," claims that the AP has used the term "smuggling" in dozens of prior articles to "describe plainly criminal conduct such as human trafficking, drug operations, and transnational crime."

AP headlines submitted include "UK leader tells Interpol meeting world must ‘wake up’ to threat from people-smugglers," "Panama arrests 15 people for smuggling Chinese migrants through the Darien Gap," "Florida man at center of fatal human smuggling case pleads not guilty in Minnesota," "US government indicts Guatemalan suspect on smuggling charges over deaths of 53 migrants in trailer," and many more. 

Young is seeking the same venue for his lawsuit against the AP as he had with CNN: Bay County, Florida. The court previously found that Young did nothing illegal. 

The AP, which has stood by its reporting since Young’s lawsuit was filed, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on examples provided by Lustig. 

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT RETRACTS AP ARTICLE ABOUT VETERAN ZACHARY YOUNG, BUT AP STANDS BY THE STORY

Plaintiff Zachary Young successfully alleged that CNN smeared him 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. He is now suing the Associated Press.  (CNN/Screenshot)

Lustig said the CNN trial was proof that news organizations shouldn’t automatically receive the benefit of the doubt. 

"The CNN trial showed us exactly how media companies operate under pressure – and how far they’ll go to avoid responsibility when they know they’ve published something false. That harm is even more serious when the target is a veteran who served this country honorably. We’re not intimidated by the Associated Press," Lustig told Fox News Digital. 

"We trust a Bay County jury to look at the facts," Lustig continued. "Just like they did before."

Young believes the AP acted with actual malice and is seeking "damages in excess of $50,000.00, exclusive of interest, costs and attorneys’ fees," along with punitive damages. 

JURY FINDS CNN COMMITTED DEFAMATION AGAINST NAVY VETERAN, SETTLEMENT REACHED ON PUNITIVE DAMAGES

Last week, U.S. News & World Report retracted its republished version of the AP report, but the AP continued to stand by its reporting. 

"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 told Fox News Digital. 

Young’s team has continued to amp up pressure on the AP, filing another amendment on Monday to include the news organization referring to the lawsuit as "frivolous" to media outlets. 

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The AP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In January, a six-person jury decided Young was owed $4 million in lost earnings, $1 million in personal damages such as pain and suffering and said that punitive damages were warranted against CNN. A settlement was reached before punitive damages were decided by the jury.