CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt left the network on Monday—months after the network settled a defamation suit stemming from his reporting.
CNN settled with defense contractor Zachary Young in January after a Florida jury ruled the network had defamed him in a November 2021 report that alleged he gouged prices for those who sought to flee Afghanistan as the United States withdrew from the country. The jury awarded him $5 million in damages; the network later settled to avoid further punitive damages.
Alex Marquardt produced the story and testified in the network’s defense. Marquardt confirmed on X on Monday that he would leave the network after eight years, though he made no mention of the case.
“Tough to say goodbye but it’s been an honor to work among the very best in the business,” Marquardt wrote. “Profound thank you to my comrades on the National Security team & the phenomenal teammates I’ve worked with in the US and abroad.”
Status News reporter Oliver Darcy reported on Monday that CNN dismissed Marquardt over “editorial differences.” Marquardt did not respond to immediate requests for comment.
A CNN spokesperson confirmed Marquardt was leaving the network but declined to provide details, saying it does “not comment on personnel matters.”
“Mr. Young believes the universe tends to reconcile things in its own time,” Young’s attorney, Daniel Lustig, who is also representing Young in a lawsuit against the Associated Press, told the Daily Beast. “Some outcomes speak for themselves.”
After a stint as a campaign reporter for CNN in 2008, Marquardt rejoined the network in May 2017 and was promoted to chief national security correspondent in September 2023.
Marquadt was surprised by the firing given CNN’s prior support for him since the January trial, a source told the Daily Beast, and his frequent appearances on CNN’s behalf both on-air and at events, including April’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Unlike other recent staff departures, such as Darcy and CNN This Morning Weekend anchor Amara Walker, the network did not offer any statement of support for Marquardt.
Marquardt’s last on-air appearance was on May 27, according to a review of media monitoring service Grabien, and he filled in for anchor Wolf Blitzer last week. His last online report, detailing Israel’s acceptance of a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal with Hamas, was published on Friday.
Young sued CNN in September 2022 over a November 2021 report, produced by Marquardt, that named him in a story about a “black-market” price-gouging operation to help people flee Afghanistan during the U.S.’ withdrawal.
The online report did not tie Young to the black-market operation, and Young said his business did not target individual Afghans but instead corporate sponsorships. But after the report, which aired on The Lead With Jake Tapper, used a photo of his face as it mentioned “black markets,” Young said his business plummeted.
After Young’s attorneys threatened legal action and demanded the network issue a correction, it issued an on-air apology to him in March 2022 and retracted the report.
CNN defended the report during a two-week trial in January, saying the report never tied Young to criminal activity, that he couldn’t support the assertion that his business suffered as a result of the segment, and that CNN employees understood “black markets” to mean “unregulated markets.” Network executives also testified they believed the story didn’t need a correction.
Multiple CNN employees were deposed and testified on behalf of the network—including Marquardt and anchor Jake Tapper—but jurors ultimately sided with Young and awarded him $5 million in damages for pain and suffering.
CNN and Young ultimately settled the case for an undisclosed amount as the jury deliberated how much to award him for punitive damages.
CNN said at the time it would “remain proud of our journalists” and would “take what useful lessons we can from this case,” but Marquardt’s departure exemplifies the risk networks face with their reporting in an increasingly litigious time in the media industry.
President Donald Trump has sued multiple media outlets over reporting he dislikes, often claiming the reports have defamed him.
ABC paid Trump $16 million last year to settle a lawsuit over an interview George Stephanopoulos conducted with Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, that Trump said mischaracterized a New York jury’s decision to find him as liable for sexual abuse as liable for rape.
CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global, has also been negotiating a settlement to Trump’s lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris that he claimed was distorted to make her more articulate. CBS has defended the report, but as Paramount seeks regulatory approval for its pending merger with Skydance Media, it has worked to placate the president by negotiating a settlement.
