CNN's fairness guru Emma Lacey-Bordeaux defended the controversial report at the center of a high-stakes defamation trial on Wednesday when called to the witness stand.

Chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt denied that his report about security contractor Zachary Young was a “hit piece.”

As the trial in Florida enters its second week, attorneys for Zachary Young, the security consultant named in the CNN story, tried to paint the network as engaging in “theater.”

A CNN journalist responded to accusations from Zachary Young's lawyers that "everyone" at the network "hated" Young. A CNN journalist faced questioning over his messages to sources as he took the stand in the network's defamation trial.