Navy Veteran Suing CNN for Defamation Was CIA Agent—and Left-Wing Network Gave Him Just 2 Hours To Confirm His Agency Affiliations, Messages Show

PANAMA CITY, Fla.—The Navy veteran suing CNN for defamation revealed Thursday that he was a CIA officer, a fact that the left-wing network asked him to confirm on a two-hour deadline prior to running a story he says was full of "libel."

The plaintiff, Zachary Young, denied then-senior national security correspondent Alex Marquardt’s claim that the reporter called him before a November 2021 segment aired alleging that he operated in an illegal "black market" profiteering off Afghans trying...