Largely lost in the coverage of witness testimony, breaking news of the defamation liability verdict against CNN, and the subsequent settlement on punitive damages, was how CNN’s lead counsel David Axelrod (not to be confused with the CNN commentator of the same name) had repeatedly lied to Judge William Scott Henry and was dressed down in front of the court and streamed around the world because of it. At one point, Judge Henry announced that Axelrod’s “credibility with me … is about none” and forced him to apologize to Plaintiff and Navy veteran Zachary Young for baselessly suggesting he was the liar.
One of Axelrod’s biggest lies with the most consequences for his defense of CNN was a mischaracterization of interactions he had with the media pool in the room; falsely suggesting to Judge Henry that we had all “quickly consented” to not…
