VA Secretary Doug Collins stuns reporter Kaitlan Collins with question about CNN's $5M lawsuit settlement

WASHINGTON, DC: CNN host Kaitlan Collins received an unprecedented pushback from Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins when the Trump government official turned the tables on the persistent anchor. 

On Wednesday, March 26, a tense conversation ensued between Secretary Doug Collins and Kaitlan Collins (unrelated) when the host started asking him about the Signal group chat debacle that has sparked discussions about national security. 

However, soon the VA Secretary left the viewers stunned by asking Kaitlan Collins about CNN’s recent settlement of a $5 million defamation case regarding a Navy veteran, the Daily Mail reported.

Doug Collins questions Kailtan Collins over CNN’s $5M lawsuit settlement

On Wednesday, March 26, the CNN anchor started the segment by trying to grill VA Secretary Doug Collins about the leaked national security intel. However, the 58-year-old Air Force veteran-turned-politician was not interested in delving deep into the topic that had nothing to do with him. 

When he was asked about it, Secretary Collins answered, “I was not involved in the chat. I trust the president's opinion on it. I trust what's been going on,” before firmly establishing his stance, “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.”

Undeterred, the CNN journalist continued to press him for his opinion. To which, the former Georgia representative responded, “Kaitlan, as I've just told you, I've just answered the question.”

He continued, “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.”

When his consistent effort to steer the conversation toward the veterans remained fruitless, Secretary Collins took aim at one of the recent setbacks for the network. 

As he noticed the anchor not steering the conversation toward VA, Secretary Collins said, “Well, Kaitlan, since you undoubtedly don't want to talk about the VA, I have a question as VA secretary.”

He continued, “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.”

The network recently found itself in a legal battle after Navy veteran Zachary Young, 49, filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN, after the network wrongly accused him of running a “black market” for Afghanistan evacuations. In January, Young took home $5 million in damages after the network was found guilty.  

During Wednesday’s discussion, Secretary Collins continued, “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 continued to press on the topic as he asked questions regarding the channel’s stance on the veterans. 

“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,” continued Secretary Collins. 

After facing a barrage of questions, Kaitlan finally attempted to push back, as she responded, “Well, Mr Secretary, respectfully, my question was about…”

Unperturbed, Secretary Collins retorted, “Answer my question, Kaitlan.”

He once again reiterated that he had already answered Kaitlan’s question, as he responded, “What you want to do is talk about a subject I've already answered?” before adding, “I've answered your question, why don't you answer mine?”

He continued to grill the anchor about the embattled network’s condition, asking, “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 CNN host, too, stood firm in her point, as she replied, “Respectfully, sir, I'm asking the questions here and I have no involvement in what you're referencing there.”

Following the heated exchange, the duo reverted to the rest of the conversation with no further flare-ups. 

The reporter previously butted heads with President Donald Trump regarding the Signal group chat fallout, when she asked the POTUS about the same during a White House press briefing on March 25. 

During the press briefing, when she asked, "Mr President, you said that your national security learned a lesson after a reporter...,” the President abruptly stopped her and said, "Excuse me, I didn’t pick you.”

He went on to ignore her questions and took questions from other reporters. 

Zachary Young filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN

As reported by the New York Post, CNN found itself in hot water after a Florida jury found the network guilty of defaming the Navy veteran, Zachary Young, after he helped in evacuating people from Afghanistan amid the US’ withdrawal in 2021. 

CNN claimed that during that time, private contractors were charging up to $14,000 for "black market" evacuations, of which Young was also a part. 

However, the Navy veteran hit back, saying that he never accepted money in exchange for helping the citizens evacuate, which subsequently led to the high-profile lawsuit.