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Zachary Young, the U.S. Navy veteran who defeated NCS in a high-profile defamation case, is accusing the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of “censorship” for making an attempt to cease him from releasing a spy memoir about his life.
Young, who’s CIA-trained, efficiently alleged that NCS smeared him by implying he illegally profited when serving to individuals flee Afghanistan on the “black market” through the Biden administration’s army withdrawal from the nation in 2021. During the trial, Young outlined his intensive coaching in issues akin to “brush passes,” and different subtle methods to change delicate data in hostile areas with out being detected.
Young has since teamed up with “American Sniper” co-author Scott McEwen for a memoir known as “American Spy,” however he says the CIA withheld permission for the guide to be revealed. Young stated he despatched his former employer a manuscript for prepublication assessment, noting that the guide wouldn’t comprise categorised data and that his involvement with the company was already half of the general public trial file after the CIA confirmed his background to NCS reporters.
U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young, seen right here in Pakistan within the early 2000s. (Zachary Young)
The CIA Author Review Office (ARO) not solely rejected his guide but in addition advised Young, who signed a nondisclosure settlement throughout his time with the company, to delete the manuscript altogether, based on a letter the Navy veteran stated he obtained earlier this month.
“The manuscript cannot be published or disclosed as written, because the manuscript is predicated upon sensitive information subject to your nondisclosure agreement. In issuing this denial, we reviewed the additional materials you submitted with the manuscript, but must stress that these materials did not constitute confirmation or acknowledgment by the organization of the information contained in the manuscript or alter the status of the sensitive information,” the letter obtained by Fox News Digital acknowledged.
“Therefore, you must delete any and all copies containing the sensitive information. Electronic copies should be deleted from your hard drive, mobile device, the cloud, and any backup or remote storage locations,” the letter continued. “Ensure these items are also deleted from ‘Recycle Bin’ and ‘Trash’ folders. Please shred or burn hardcopies.”
Young, who was given 30 days to attraction the ruling however stated he didn’t obtain the letter at his residence in Austria till the window was midway closed, blasted the company.
“I kept America’s secrets for most of my adult life without recognition. The CIA’s own director of public affairs confirmed my employment, in an official capacity, to a journalist she knew was writing a story about me. Now that same agency wants me to burn my own life story to cover its embarrassment. That’s not national security. That’s censorship. NCS didn’t intimidate me, and the CIA won’t either,” Young advised Fox News Digital.
The CIA didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young settled with NCS for an undisclosed quantity after a jury discovered he was defamed by the community. (Jessica Costescu)
According to a press launch for the guide, “American Spy” will inform the story of “an American who spent years working undercover in hostile environments and denied areas, operating in the hidden world of international espionage.” William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, was anticipated to launch the guide later this yr.
HarperCollins didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
In addition, NewsBusters reported that the one that served as CIA public affairs director when Young’s affiliation was confirmed to then-NCS correspondent Alex Marquardt had beforehand labored for NCS from January 2017 to January 2020.
“According to sworn testimony and contemporaneous NCS communications introduced at trial, she confirmed my former CIA employment to a NCS reporter while he was reporting the story. That was not some random leak. That was the agency’s own press office communicating with the media through its official spokesperson. Given that, it is hard to understand what the agency’s objection to my book could possibly be, especially since they have never once identified in writing a single passage they claim is classified,” Young advised Fox News Digital.
JURY FINDS NCS COMMITTED DEFAMATION AGAINST NAVY VETERAN, SETTLEMENT REACHED ON PUNITIVE DAMAGES
Zachary Young, who’s CIA-trained, teamed up with “American Sniper” co-author Scott McEwen for a memoir known as “American Spy.” (Zachary Young )
“A NCS reporter went to the CIA, the CIA’s official public affairs office confirmed my background, NCS then aired a defamatory story about me, and now the agency is trying to block my book about what happened,” Young continued. “That raises serious questions, and I think the public deserves answers.”
NCS declined remark.
In 2025, a six-person jury determined Young was owed $4 million in misplaced earnings and $1 million in private damages akin to ache and struggling, and stated punitive damages have been warranted towards NCS. A settlement was reached earlier than punitive damages have been determined by the jury.
The foreman of the jury, Katy Svitenko, advised Fox News Digital in her first interview following the trial that the jury was “willing to go as high as $100 million, somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 million to $100 million.” Settlement phrases weren’t disclosed.
NCS has beforehand stated it could take “useful lessons” from the choice.
“We remain proud of our journalists and are 100% committed to strong, fearless and fair-minded reporting at NCS, though we will of course take what useful lessons we can from this case,” a NCS spokesperson advised Fox News Digital following the trial.
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