Judge in CNN's Billion-Dollar Defamation Case Blasts CNN's Lawyer, Calling Him a "Liar" and Telling Him His "Credibility With Me... Is About None"

CNN's lawyer is a liar with zero credibility?

Did they promote him from within?

Note that CNN's lead lawyer is named David Axelrod. It would be just wonderful if this liar with zero credibility were Obama's campaign manager and Astroturf Engineer David Axelrod, but unfortunately this is an entirely different asshole.

The facts are a little complicated. I believe this is the gist: Young alleges that after CNN's defamatory hit-piece, he was unable to secure work for a number of years. CNN's lawyer David Axelrod called him a "liar" repeatedly in court, brandishing a piece of paper which he claimed was a "smoking gun" representing Young signing an employment contract.

But it turns out that Axelrod lied utterly about what this paper was. It was not proof that Young had secured a job. In fact, it was just a form Young signed to keep his security clearance.

And Young just found out that his security clearance had been ended -- possibly due to CNN's hit-piece. Young's lawyer moved to allow evidence to this effect, including a witness who would confirm Young's security clearance was canceled.

David Axelrod objected to this evidence, leading the judge -- exasperated by Axelrod's lies -- to blast him.

Fox:

Young's lead counsel Vel Freedman informed Judge Henry on Wednesday that his client had just learned he lost his security clearance, which had been previously renewed right after the CNN report aired. CNN's legal team had earlier suggested that Young maintaining security clearance was proof that he lied about being able to work in the wake of the CNN segment.

Freedman said Young checked his security clearance status after testifying, and discovered that he actually lost it in 2022. As a result, Freedman sought to add a witness from Helios Global, the firm that held Young's now-defunct security clearance, in order to tell jurors that the relationship "dissolved" in 2022.

CNN lead counsel David Axelrod, who shares a name with the CNN political commentator, objected to the last-minute effort. However, Freedman insisted the "jury should not be misled" and said Bay County jurors were left with the impression that Young still holds a security clearance to this day.

Axelrod insisted that he didn't mislead the jury, but Judge Henry blasted the "blatant misrepresentation" of CNN's legal team implying the security clearance document was an employment contract.

Judge Henry read aloud a transcript of Axelrod's comments from last week, in which he called the lawsuit a "fraud" and insisted Young "lied" about being able to earn income in the wake of the CNN report.

"You called him a liar multiple times there," Judge Henry said.

Judge Henry seemed annoyed that Axelrod used the security clearance document to insist Young was a "liar," but then objected to a witness who would be able to explain that Young did not actually have the clearance. Freedman told the judge that CNN "knew" Young no longer had security clearance but didn't tell the court.

"They knew it was not true," Freedman said. "CNN knew that relationship ended, knew Mr. Young did not know that relationship ended, had proof of it, failed to disclose it to the other side, and then put an expert on the stand to say he still has it."

Much like last week when similar chaos erupted, Judge Henry then called for a recess because he wanted to return to his chambers and think things over. He returned and promptly scolded Axelrod.

...

"Mr. Axelrod, I don't know how many times in this transcript, I didn't bring the paper back with me, how many times you called Mr. Young a liar. But yet, in his deposition, he acknowledged having his security being held by Helios Global. Which is exactly what that document is and exactly what he testified to," Judge Henry said.

"I think an apology from you is clearly in order to Mr. Young for the number of times in front of this court, and streamed around the world, that you called Mr. Young a liar," the judge continued.

Judge Henry reminded Axelrod that he previously said he wasn't going to decide the case based on "who can sling the most mud" or who can make the other side look worse.

Judge Henry then ruled that the Helios Global representative was permitted to testify.

"I'm troubled by all of this. I'm overly concerned with the level of professionalism, or lack thereof," Judge Henry said, adding that both sides were at fault.

Judge Henry noted that Axelrod previously implied the document was a "smoking gun" in the case but contradicted himself later to suit his argument.

"Right now, your credibility with me, Mr. Axelrod, is about none," Judge Henry said.

Axelrod then apologized.

"I apologize and if you feel that I misled you, that certainly wasn't my intention," Axelrod said.

It looks like CNN should start limbering up its check-writing fingers.

That's not all the bad news. From John Sexton, CNN will also have to explain texts from its own editors expressing their profound discomfort with airing this smear-job made WITHOUT EVIDENCE:

"The story is full of holes like Swiss cheese," Lumley wrote.

"Agree. The story is 80% emotion, 20% obscured fact lol," Trimble responded.

So CNN's editors themselves say this was a bad-faith hit-job and malicious intent.

posted by Ace at 01:25 PM

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