CNN Plaintiffs ongoing libel trial has accused CNN reporter Alex Marquardt of calling him for “drama,” but the reporter insisted the call was just for television.

Zachary Young accuses CNN of discrediting him in a November 2021 report that first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper” suggesting he was trying to flee the war in Afghanistan Desperate people in Afghanistan profit illegally. Biden administration’s Withdrawal, suggesting he was involved in “black market” dealings, damaged his professional reputation.

During the televised portion of the trial, CNN reporter Alex Marquardt claimed to have made a live call to Young. But the Navy veteran insists he never received the call, and screenshots from his Signal account support the claim that Marquardt didn’t actually make the call.

However, Marquardt testified Monday that he called a number he believed belonged to Young, who jurors believe could help determine who wins in the high-stakes trial.

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Vel Freedman, Yang’s lead attorney, showed the jury video of Marquardt’s alleged phone calls via Signal, an encrypted messaging app popular with journalists. The number he called was saved on his iPhone as Zachary Young. No one answered.

“You want to make sure the photographer has a clear view of the contact person, Zachary Young, right?” Friedman asked.

“Yes, you can see his long Austrian number there,” Marquardt replied.

Friedman retorted: “We see there’s a long list of Austrian numbers there, right?”

“But that’s where (CNN reporter) Katie Beau Lillis texted him,” Marquardt responded.

Friedman said he couldn’t see the number, but Marquardt responded: “I know for a fact it’s the same number on my phone.”

“The screen says you’re calling a contact named Zachary Young, right?” Friedman asked.

“That’s right,” Marquardt said.

Friedman then reminded the CNN reporter that he was sworn to tell the truth.

“Is this Mr. Young’s real phone number, or is it a friend’s phone number that you saved under the name Zachary Young?” Friedman asked.

“I believe it was Mr. Young’s number that I got from Katie Beau Lillis because she had been texting with him at that number,” Marquardt said.

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Friedman then showed the jury side-by-side images of Marquardt and Young’s cellphones, highlighting where Signal showed missed calls between the parties. Signal accounts show no phone calls between Marquardt and Young.

“Signal displays call messages in its chat history, right,” Friedman said.

“It does, yes,” Marquardt replied.

Freedman explained that the text message conversation between Marquardt and Young began on November 10, 2021, with the alleged call taking place on November 3, 2021.

“There are no missed calls in Mr. Yang’s chat history, right?” Friedman said.

Marquardt replied: “I didn’t see it there.”

“There is no outgoing call in the message record between you and Mr. Yang, right?” Friedman asked.

“That’s right,” Marquardt said.

“Is that Zachary Young saved at that phone number?” Friedman asked.

“Yes, it is. It’s the same number that Katie Beau Lillis gave me that he’s been using,” Marquardt said.

Friedman then showed the jury behind-the-scenes footage of Marquardt’s phone call, in which the producer could be heard instructing him to step back from the camera.

Marquardt said he let the phone ring “several times” before hanging up because no one answered. He admitted that a photographer asked him to hold his phone and pretend to listen.

“You pretended to call Mr. Yang, right?” Friedman said.

“I don’t know what I was doing, it looked like I was on the phone,” Marquardt said.

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Marquardt acknowledged that the ringing was not heard in the video.

“You pretended to call him, didn’t you?” Friedman asked after the video paused.

“I don’t know,” Marquardt said.

Friedman asked him if he was prepared to admit he “pretended” to call Young because the video didn’t show any ringing and the signal didn’t show a missed call.

“I was holding the phone like I was making a call after a call. What you saw was very basic television production,” Marquardt said. “We’ll get the footage that we want to edit into the piece.”

“Theatre, right,” Friedman said, hinting at what’s to come in the video.

“It’s pretty standard practice,” Marquardt said.

“This very standard practice of fake phone calls is going to be in the final production video, right?” Friedman said.

“You saw the very real phone call I attempted to make to Mr. Young, and I wish he had answered the phone so he could explain what he was doing. It was definitely a call to Mr. Young that day,” Marquardt said.

Friedman shot back: “Sir, I saw you call a guy named Zachary Young…that’s what I saw.”

“I can tell you, Mr. Friedman, I was using a phone number that was given to me by a colleague of mine that I had been texting with Mr. Yang. To my knowledge, that phone number was Mr. Yang’s because she Texting him,” Marquardt said.

“Mind you, a week later I texted him from that phone number and he responded to me,” Marquardt added. “As far as I know, that was his phone number. I called him and he didn’t Answer the phone.”

Marquardt later said the video shown to the jury, known as “pickup footage,” would be edited into the final story.

“This is pretty standard production,” Marquardt said.

“The scene where you pretend to call Mr. Yang is in the last sequence, right?” Friedman asked.

“Yes,” Marquardt said.

“That theater is in its home stretch, right?” Friedman asked.

“No, that shot did happen,” Marquardt replied.

Friedman then asked the court to reinstate the suspended behind-the-scenes video of Marquardt’s alleged phone call. As the video continued, Marquardt waved his hands and said the word “theater” to his CNN colleagues in an exaggerated British accent.

“Sir, that theater went into its final shot, right?” Friedman asked.

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“The phone does,” Marquardt replied.

“You can’t even say it, can you?” Friedman said. “Theatre, it goes into the last shot, right?”

Marquardt insisted he “did not fake” the call, prompting Friedman to remind a CNN reporter that he had just explained that fake calls were standard television production.

“That theater made it into the final video clip, right?” Friedman said, imitating Marquardt’s voice saying the word “theater” in the video.

“Yes, the shot did work,” Marquardt said, as Young was seen flashing a rare smile in the courtroom.

“I appreciate you trying to frame this as some kind of scandal. I can explain what happened here,” Marquardt said.

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Friedman then reminded Marquardt that he had previously testified that what he considered “theatrics” was not used in the report.

“You lied to the jury, didn’t you?” Friedman asked.

“I didn’t,” Marquardt said.

Marquardt later insisted that his “theatrical” joke in the behind-the-scenes video was a reference to an old sketch by Jon Lovitz on “Saturday Night Live.”

The trial is being broadcast live fox news numbers.