CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins was left stunned when the Secretary of Veteran Affairs turned the tables on her by asking about a $5 million settlement the network made for slandering a veteran. The CNN star had been trying to grill VA Secretary Doug Collins about the Signal group chat debacle just days after a reporter for The Atlantic was accidentally sent bombing plans for Yemen.

But Secretary Collins (no relation) wanted no part in debating an issue he had nothing to do with. ‘I was not involved in the chat. I trust the president’s opinion on it. I trust what’s been going on,’ Secretary Collins said. ‘Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. My opinion is that my job is to take care of veterans in this country as they come out of service, and that’s what I’m going to continue to do.’

The CNN star – who has faced off with Trump on the subject – continued to press the VA secretary for answers but he held firm. ‘Kaitlan, as I’ve just told you, I’ve just answered the question,’ he responded. ‘I wasn’t a part of it and, you know, I’m not going to speculate more than what the president has already talked about, and those who have been involved have talked about, but would love to talk about the veterans.’

As the anchor remained undeterred, Secretary Collins decided he would have no more and took aim at CNN’s most embarrassing recent moments. ‘Well, Kaitlan, since you undoubtedly don’t want to talk about the VA, I have a question as VA secretary,’ he warned. ‘I want to ask you because I’ve been curious about this, because my job is to take care of veterans, and I would like to know why CNN is hostile to veterans, especially one in Florida where you just had a $5 million defamation suit taking offense at a veteran who is trying to help people.’

Jurors found the embattled network liable for defaming Zachary Young (pictured right), 49, at a Florida courthouse in late January after falsely accusing him of running a ‘black market’ for Afghanistan evacuations. Young, who sued for $15 million, will take home even more cash than the amount so-far awarded, as it does not take into account punitive damages. Secretary Collins pressed further: ‘In fact, one of your employees actually said, ‘We’re going to nail him.’ I have a question for you, Kaitlan. Is that employee still employed? Are you really concerned about veterans?’

He dug in deeper: ‘So if we don’t want to talk about veterans now, you want to talk about everything else, I’d like to hear from CNN as the veteran cabinet secretary why CNN seems to have a problem with veterans.’ Finally, the face of CNN’s prime time lineup attempted to push back, responding: ‘Well, Mr. Secretary, respectfully, my question was about-‘ ‘Answer my question, Kaitlan,’ Secretary Collins fired back. That’s when the head of veterans affairs pointed out that he’d already answered the question. ‘What you want to do is talk about a subject I’ve already answered? I’ve answered your question, why don’t you answer mine? Is this person still employed who said they were gonna nail one of my veterans, who he had to do a $5 million award from the jury because of defamation, and then you settled the case? Answer my question.’

The anchor wouldn’t budge, replying: ‘Respectfully sir, I’m asking the questions here and I have no involvement in what you’re referencing there.’ She then reverted back to the discussion at hand with no further incident. Young is a US Navy veteran turned security consultant helped evacuate Afghan people to safety following President Biden’s disastrous withdrawal in 2021. He was named in a CNN segment claiming private contractors were charging up to $14,000 for ‘black market’ evacuations. Young said he’d never accepted any money from Afghans who needed rescued and relied on corporate and nongovernmental organization sponsorships to help people flee.

The network has been battling sagging ratings and vows from conservative lawmakers including Trump himself to crack down on what they claim is an unfair liberal bias. The defamatory broadcast was screened in November 2021 and opened with Jake Tapper claiming Afghans trying to flee the surging Taliban ‘face a black market full of promises, demand of exorbitant fees and no guarantee of safety or success.’ Tapper then cut to CNN’s chief security correspondent Alex Marquardt claiming that an Afghan man in the US had found people on Facebook charging $10,000 to evacuate relatives.

Marquardt claimed ‘desperate Afghans are now being exploited’ by ‘exorbitant and impossible’ amounts. It then displayed a LinkedIn post from Zachary Young advertising his services. Young filed his defamation lawsuit in 2022 and successfully alleged that CNN had damaged his reputation by lying that he was taking advantage of the withdrawal. After being threatened by Young, CNN made an apology, issued a retraction and removed the segment from public view. But in depositions screened during the hearing, senior staff say the network should never have apologized to Young.

Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.