In a defamation trial against CNN, the network's fairness chief stands up for the accuracy of a controversial report at the heart of the lawsuit.

On Wednesday, during a high-stakes defamation trial, CNN Senior Director for Standards and Practices Emma Lacey-Bordeaux defended the controversial report at issue.

A U.S. Navy veteran, Zachary Young, claims that CNN falsely accused him in a November 2021 report by correspondent Alex Marquardt, which aired on "The Lead with Jake Tapper," of illegally profiting off people trying to escape Afghanistan after the Biden administration's military withdrawal. The report suggested that he was involved in "black market" dealings and damaged his professional reputation.

Lacey-Bordeaux, who has been employed at CNN since 2008, stated that her duty is to ensure that CNN's content is impartial. During the trial, David Axelrod, CNN's lead lawyer, questioned Lacey-Bordeaux about the accuracy and fairness of the report in question, which is at the heart of the defamation lawsuit against Young.

"Lacey-Bordeaux stated, "I believe the piece is fair to Mr. Young.""

After Axelrod finished, Vel Freedman, Young's lead counsel, took over for cross-examination. Freedman started questioning Lacey-Bordeaux about CNN's standards and practices policies, which Lacey-Bordeaux stated were "mandatory" reading for all employees.

CNN's News Standards and Practices mission is to ensure that its on-air and online reports and programs are accurate, fair, and responsible.

Lacey-Bordeaux received the script for the report on CNN only the day before it aired, despite Freedman's suggestion that the "Triad" should be alerted early in the process, preferably weeks or months ahead.

Lacey-Bordeaux stated that she felt she had ample time to review the piece.

Lacey-Bordeaux believed she had sufficient time to examine the work, but Young maintained that he lacked enough time to share his perspective.

Young had previously informed Marquardt that two hours was insufficient to answer a set of questions. Despite Marquardt's assertion that he had already contacted Young on LinkedIn the previous week, Young testified that he had not received any communication from Marquardt. Later, the CNN correspondent granted Young only two hours to respond to a series of questions.

Marquardt's deadline is not realistic, and some of his facts are inaccurate. If they are published, Young will seek legal damages.

Marquardt moved forward with the story anyway.

Lacey-Bordeaux initially considered Young's two-hour deadline to respond as "sharp," but later changed her mind after Marquardt provided context. Additionally, she confessed that she did not review CNN's communications with Young prior to the report being aired.

Young was shown internal messages from CNN employees where Katie Bo Lillis asked him to speak but failed to mention that she was the one who wrote the story about him.

Lacey-Bordeaux stated that she was seeing the chain for the first time.

Lacey-Bordeaux emphasized that the exchange was "casual" and reiterated that the final product was "fair," despite Freedman's earlier statement that Marquardt had declared Young would be on CNN.

Lacey-Bordeaux paused for a long moment before responding to whether the absence of a missed call from Marquardt would have affected the two-hour timeframe given to Young. After considering the situation, she informed the jury that two hours was sufficient.

Lacey-Bordeaux footage of Marquardt calling the controversial phone call "theater" was shown to the jury by Freedman, who has suggested that Marquardt didn't actually call Young. However, the CNN reporter insists that he did, and Marquardt dismissed the "theater" line as a reference to an old "Saturday Night Live" sketch.

Lacey-Bordeaux disagreed with Freedman's belief that CNN presents its news as a theatrical performance.

The testimony shifted to the notorious "black market" caption that was frequently employed in the report. In March 2022, CNN issued an apology to Young, emphasizing the "black market" phrase.

"CNN anchor Pamela Brown apologized to Mr. Young for the error in suggesting his participation in the black market, stating that it was not their intention."

Although CNN issued an apology, many staffers maintain that the apology was not sufficient and have continued to support the initial report. Lacey-Bordeaux, like many of her colleagues who previously testified, believes the story was "fair" even after the network offered an apology.

Lacey-Bordeaux stated that she did not request banners for the segment and was content with the report, hence she never approved the "black market" chyron.

The juror proposed fact-checking banners in addition to CNN's content, which Lacey-Bordeaux acknowledged as a valid suggestion but maintained her confidence in the story.

On Thursday, the trial will resume and will be live-streamed on Planet Chronicle Digital.