Having served as the servile stenographer for Zachary Young in his numerous trollsuits over alleged defamation from media outlets, the Media Research Center’s Nicholas Fondacaro was offended in an Oct. 2 post that one fought back:
As NewsBusters was first to report back in August, Judge William Scott Henry of Florida’s 14th Judicial Circuit ruled against Navy veteran Zachary Young and granted two motions to dismiss on a pair of defamation suits against The Associated Press and Puck News. While Young’s appeals made their way through the legal system, the AP filed a motion requesting the court have Young fork up $239,545.50 for “reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.”
The AP’s lead counsel Charles Tobin of Ballard Spahr LLP, requested the court award his client that large sum via Florida’s anti-SLAPP Act:
[…]According to Cornell Law School, “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP suit) refers to lawsuits brought by individuals and entities to dissuade their critics from continuing to produce negative publicity. By definition, SLAPP suits do not have any true legal claims against the critics.” Essentially, anti-SLAPP laws were meant to be a way to recoup costs.
In the filing, the AP seemed to take issue with how “Young litigated the case very aggressively” (emphasis theirs) and his seeking $453 million in total damages. They even cited NewsBusters reporting on the amount.
[…]“In sum, counsel charged a reasonable rate and billed a reasonable number of hours to prevail in this action. The AP should be fully compensated for the fees Young’s meritless action caused it to incur, as Florida law directs,” the filing argued.
Again, the AP was requesting Young pay their costs before the Florida appeals court even heard Young’s motion to take another look.
Fondacaro didn’t explain why the AP seeking costs from Young while the case is under appeal is somehow wrong or deviant from standard legal practice. He went on to describe that appeal from Young in a Nov. 27 post:
On Thanksgiving, Navy veteran Zachary Young filed an appeal for his $453 million defamation suit against the Associated Press. In addition to wanting Florida’s First District Court of Appeals to allow the case to proceed, Young also requested they order a new judge be assigned to preside over the case; pointing to Judge William Scott Henry’s comments about the merits of the case when he threw it out back in August.
The appeal accused the court of “erroneously granting” the motion and denying Young an opportunity for punitive damages, and taking direct aim at Judge Henry’s language:
[…]Young stuck to his allegations that the AP defamed him by using the term “smuggle” to describe his operations to rescue people from Afghanistan during the collapse; continuing to point out that AP Style Guide gives a negative definition to the word:
[…]Young feared unfair treatment from Judge Henry, the same judge who oversaw Young’s successful defamation case against CNN, given his comments comparing the AP case to a bad sequel to a movie and other comments that cast doubt on the merits:
Fondacaro then demonstrated just how tight he is with Young’s legal team:
In a statement to NewsBusters, Young’s appellate counsel Lisa Paige Glass, Esq. said:
“The circuit court reduced a false felony accusation to a candy bar analogy. Human smuggling is a federal and international crime. It is not a joke, and it is not a figure of speech. Florida law requires courts to take those words as they are written, and we are confident the First District will restore that basic principle.”
Daniel Lustig, Young’s lead counsel, told NewsBusters:
“This case is about accountability. When a major news organization tells the world that someone ‘smuggled people,’ it is making a direct criminal accusation. The law does not allow that to be brushed aside or reinterpreted after the fact. We are confident the First District will correct the error and allow a jury to decide the meaning of those words.”
Following Judge Henry’s decision to throw the case out, the AP filed a motion to make Young pay for nearly $240,000 in legal bills.
Fondacaro detailed another Young appeal of a dismissed trollsuit in a Dec. 8 post:
After the case was thrown out in August, on Monday, Navy veteran Zachary Young filed an appeal of his defamation suit against Puck News. In addition to wanting Florida’s First District Court of Appeals to allow the case to proceed, Young also requested they order a new judge be assigned to preside over the case; pointing to Judge William Scott Henry’s comments about the merits of the case. Just as he did with his appeal for his defamation case against the Associated Press.
The appeal filed by Young’s counsel Jason Greaves, didn’t hold back as it repeatedly accused Florida’s 14th Judicial Circuit of coming to “erroneous” conclusions in Puck’s favor on multiple fronts and upending the order of operations for how defamation cases were supposed to proceed:
[…]As in his initial complaint, Young’s filing argued that Puck News (a media industry-focus publication), via coverage from “entertainment law expert” Eriq Gardner, took CNN’s side and presented slanted reporting that aimed to clean some of the egg of their face.
Fondacaro didn’t describe the metaphorical egg on Young’s face for continuing to pursue his trollsuits. He did further quote Greaves “in a statement to NewsBusters” but did not bother to contact Puck for its side of the story.\Fondacaro fluffed Young again in a Dec. 14 post:
Releasing in 2026, American Spy will be the memoir of Navy veteran Zachary Young, the man who took CNN to court for malicious defamation and won. The book, published by Harper Collins, was co-written by American Sniper author Scott McEwen and will follow Young through his recruitment and exploits “operating in the hidden world of international espionage,” according to press release obtained first by NewsBusters.
During the trial against CNN, Young’s past work with the Central Intelligence Agency and security contractor roles was bared before the world, put under the microscope, and brutally questioned.
The memoir seems to be Young’s way to take back control and tell his story on his terms:
[…]Additionally, “American Spy will be available for pre-order upon release of the cover.”
Fondacaro didn’t mention how much Young and his legal team paid him for this book promo. Instead, he created more publicity for Young in a Jan. 5 post:
In addition to putting his life into print via his to-be-released memoir American Spy later this year, Navy veteran Zachary Young, the man who took CNN to court for malicious defamation and won, was looking to adapt his story into a serialized television show.
Going by the same name as Young’s book, American Spy will be a dramatization of some of Young’s real-world exploits during his time with the Central Intelligence Agency, particularly his time as a non-official cover officer or NOC.
NewsBusters has reviewed the script for the pilot as well as the Season One Arc summary, which initially follows Young’s covert actions inside one of American’s top adversaries currently in the headline, hints of which arose during the trial.
American Sniper author Scott McEwen, who co-wrote the book with Young, also had a hand in crafting the show.
“What drew me to this project immediately was that it opens a window the public almost never gets to see,” he said in a statement to NewsBusters.
Again, Fondacaro didn’t disclose how much he was paid for this, or what deal he made to get access to the summary. Instead, he huffed: “It will be interesting to see if a future season of the series explores the CNN defamation trial.” No speculation on the trollsuits Young filed against other outlets.