Top CNN Reporter Exits After Network Lost $5M Defamation Case Against Navy Veteran

A CNN correspondent at the center of a nefarious report that cost the network at least $5 million for defaming a US Navy veteran is leaving the struggling network.

Chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt landed in hot water earlier this year after a Florida jury ruled that he defamed Zachary Young in 2021 by claiming the former soldier illegally exploited Afghans during the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from the country.

Sources told former CNN media correspondent Oliver Darcy that Marquardt was fired — citing “editorial differences” with his higher-ups at the network.

Marquardt — who worked at CNN for eight years and recently spearheaded its coverage of the Russian-Ukraine war — did not mention the legal debacle or the reason for his exit in announcing the departure Monday.

“Tough to say goodbye but it’s been an honor to work among the very best in the business,” Marquardt wrote in a post on X. (Read more from “Top CNN Reporter Exits After Network Lost $5M Defamation Case Against Navy Veteran” HERE)