Former Navy officer Zachary Young is suing CNN for defamation, alleging their November 2021 report falsely implicated him in illicit activities related to the Afghan evacuation. The report, aired on "The Lead with Jake Tapper," portrayed Young as profiting from the chaotic withdrawal, damaging his reputation. A key point of contention in the ongoing trial revolves around a televised phone call CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt claimed to have made to Young during the segment.

Young asserts he never received the call, and screenshots from his Signal app appear to corroborate his claim. Marquardt, however, testified that he did call a number he believed to be Young's, obtained from colleague Katie Bo Lillis. This discrepancy is crucial to the case's outcome.

During the trial, Young's attorney, Vel Freedman, presented footage of Marquardt seemingly making the call on Signal. The contact displayed was labeled "Zachary Young," but the call went unanswered. Freedman questioned Marquardt rigorously about the call, highlighting the lack of a missed call notification on either party's Signal history. Marquardt maintained he dialed the number he understood to be Young's, even though the on-screen footage didn't show an active call or ringing sound.

Freedman also presented side-by-side images of Marquardt's and Young's Signal call logs, further emphasizing the absence of any record of the call. He then showed behind-the-scenes footage where Marquardt can be seen holding the phone, apparently making the call, while a producer instructs him on camera positioning. Marquardt admitted he simulated listening to the call at the cameraman's direction. He characterized this as standard television production practice, referring to it as getting "pickup shots" for editing.

The most dramatic moment of the testimony came when Freedman played footage of Marquardt using the word "theater" with colleagues after filming the staged call. Freedman pressed Marquardt on this, suggesting he misled the jury about the call's authenticity. Marquardt insisted he made a genuine attempt to call Young but conceded the aired segment included the staged "pickup shot." He later attributed his "theater" comment to a reference to a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. The trial continues to be streamed live on Fox News Digital.