After blowing in the wind for over a year since CNN fired him, disgraced former chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt finally found a landing place. He apparently didn’t think he could cut it on his own on Substack, like many other displaced liberal “journalists,” and decided to answer the call from Al Jazeera English. A fitting home for the reporter who authored the video report that resulted in CNN being found liable for the malicious defamation of Navy veteran Zachary Young.
“I’m very excited to be joining Al Jazeera @AJEnglish in Washington after years of watching their extraordinary coverage from around the world,” Marquardt boasted.
Not only was he joining the network that literally backs jihadist terrorists and takes part in their operations, Marquardt would be hosting their coverage of America’s 250th birthday. “Kicking things off today with the US 250th coverage and will be hosting “This is America,” every day at 2:30pm ET. Hope you’ll tune in!” he added.
I’m very excited to be joining Al Jazeera @AJEnglish in Washington after years of watching their extraordinary coverage from around the world. Kicking things off today with the US 250th coverage and will be hosting “This is America,” every day at 2:30pm ET. Hope you’ll tune in!
— Alex Marquardt (@MarquardtA) July 1, 2026
In an accidental example of just how good of a match his hiring was, following the link to Al Jazeera English’s X account, provided by Marquardt, it featured a banner promoting their documentary that pushed the conspiracy theory that the Israeli Defense Force trained dogs to rape Palestinians.
It was over a year ago, June 2, 2025, that Marquardt cryptically announced on X that he was abruptly leaving CNN:
Some personal news: I’m leaving CNN after 8 terrific years. Tough to say goodbye but it’s been an honor to work among the very best in the business. Profound thank you to my comrades on the National Security team & the phenomenal teammates I’ve worked with in the US and abroad.
It was later confirmed by former CNN insider Oliver Darcy that Marquardt was fired as a result of CNN being found liable for malicious defamation earlier in the year, and costing the network several million dollars.
CNN parent company Warner Brothers Discovery forced the network to fire Marquardt following a routine post litigation review.
Always having an eye for the dramatic, Darcy even dramatized how Marquardt sent the e-mail to his colleagues to let them know he was leaving:
At 10:04am on Monday, Alex Marquardt took a deep breath and pressed send on an email to his CNN colleagues, bidding them farewell. “It’s been an extraordinary time, which is why it’s so tough to say goodbye,” he wrote in the surprise announcement, reflecting on his eight years at CNN and calling it an “honor” to work alongside the network’s national security team. He didn’t mention that he had just been dismissed. Or that CNN—after defending him through a closely-watched defamation trial, promoting him, and grooming him as a future anchor—had abruptly severed ties.
Curious, he had all those details about Marquardt’s deep breaths before hitting send but claimed “Marquardt also declined to comment.”
Marquardt went largely silent for a while, and giving no hint at what he was doing for work in the interim. Over time, Marquand grew more active as he posted and reposted content critical and/or mocking of America, President Trump, and Israel. His activity really took off after the start of the war with Iran.
It really was a fitting pairing.
