CNN has been hit hard by a judge who has ordered it open its financial books as part of a defamation lawsuit brought by a Navy Veteran.

The veteran, Zachary Young, said that the network “destroyed his reputation” because it accused the company he owns, Nemex Enterprises Inc., of gaining a profit from desperate Afghans who wanted to flee after President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from the nation, Fox News reported.

A court document that was obtained by Fox News showed that Judge William Henry ordered the plaintiff’s “financial discovery requests shall be limited to the time period from September 2021 to the present, except as to documents that can only be produced on a yearly basis, in which case the applicable time period will be from January 1, 2021, to the present.”

The order said that CNN is “required to produce documents relating to the effect of the specific publications at issue in this lawsuit and further republication by CNN employees on CNN’s market power, market share, or influence,” the judge said.

The judge said that the plaintiffs “may serve a subpoena on Warner Bros. Discovery” to get the relevant documents. 

The plaintiff said that CNN “destroyed his reputation and business by branding him an illegal profiteer who exploited desperate Afghans” during a Nov. 11, 2021, segment on the CNN show “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” 

During the segment the host Tapper said that correspondent Alex Marquardt found “Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success.”

The correspondent said “desperate Afghans are being exploited” and are asked to pay “exorbitant, often impossible amounts” to escape the country. He then posted a photo of the plaintiff and said that his company was demanding $75,000 to transport a vehicle of passengers to Pakistan for a price of $14,500 per person that would eventually get to the United Arab Emirates.

“Prices well beyond the reach of most Afghans,” the correspondent said.