Former CNN Reporter Tied to $5M Defamation Case Joins Al Jazeera English

Alex Marquardt has landed a new role at Al Jazeera English, a year after exiting CNN amid a $5 million defamation suit brought by U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young.

According to the New York Post, the Qatar-based news network has tapped Marquardt to anchor its coverage of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations before taking over the Washington-based daily program, This Is America. Additionally, the network hired former CNN national politics correspondent Eva McKend as a Washington correspondent.

“I’m very excited to be joining Al Jazeera @AJEnglish in Washington after years of watching their extraordinary coverage from around the world,” Marquardt said on social media on Wednesday, July 1.

I’m very excited to be joining Al Jazeera @AJEnglish in Washington after years of watching their extraordinary coverage from around the world. Kicking things off today with the US 250th coverage and will be hosting “This is America,” every day at 2:30pm ET. Hope you’ll tune in!

— Alex Marquardt (@MarquardtA) July 1, 2026

In his first report from a rooftop overlooking the U.S. Capitol, Marquardt told viewers, “I’ve just joined Al Jazeera, and I’m going to be anchoring the coverage of the U.S. 250th anniversary from up here… for the next few days. I’ve been a huge fan of Al Jazeera’s for a very long time. They do some of the very best reporting from all around the world. Really excited to get started here.”

Marquardt was at the center of a defamation case brought by Young against CNN in 2025. Young argued that a November 2021 report by Marquardt painted him as a “black market” profiteer who exploited “desperate Afghans” trying to flee Afghanistan amid the Biden administration’s military withdrawal from the country.

Initially, a jury awarded Young $5 million in damages for both financial and emotional losses. However, Young and CNN later reached an undisclosed settlement.

CNN severed ties with Marquardt around five months after the trial, with some of his former colleagues telling Fox News Digital at the time that his exit was “obviously” tied to the defamation case. CNN declined to comment because it was a personnel matter.

When asked about Marquardt’s new gig, Young told Fox News Digital, “After a year on the sidelines, I’m glad he landed somewhere. Judging by his Twitter, Al Jazeera might be the only newsroom where his coverage and his opinions actually match.”