Despite being ordered to pay ‘crippling’ fines of $800 a day, a former investigative journalist said she still would not reveal the confidential sources behind her reporting.
Catherine Herridge is an award-winning journalist who was an investigative reporter for CBS News from 2019 to 2024 and before that at Fox News from 1996 to 2019.
She is known for her reporting on Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop and for her firing from CBS News in February, which led to hundreds of her files being seized and her being locked out of her office.
On Thursday, Herridge testified before the House Judiciary Committee about the personal costs she has borne to protect her sources and advocated for the PRESS Act, which aims to protect journalists from revealing their sources.
“The fact that I have been fighting in court for two years and am now facing potentially crippling fines of $800 a day to protect my reporting sources underlines the critical importance of the Press Act,” she said.
Former CBS reporter Catherine Herridge testified Thursday about how she is facing federal prosecution for protecting the sources behind a 2017 investigative series
CBS News fired Herridge in February for unknown reasons and later locked the reporter out of her office for days as they confiscated her reporting materials.
“If you are experiencing major life events, as I have been in recent weeks, losing your job, losing your health insurance, having your reports and files confiscated by your former employer, and being held for contempt of court court, gives you clarity.’
“The First Amendment, the protection of confidential sources, and a free press are my guiding principles. They are my North Star.”
Herridge’s testimony comes as she is currently embroiled in a high-profile legal battle over the First Amendment.
In late February, a federal judge held Herridge in civil contempt for refusing to reveal her source for an investigative series she did for Fox News in 2017 about a Chinese scientist under investigation by the FBI.
That person, Yanping Chen, was never charged by the agency.
In 2018, Chen later sued the FBI and Department of Justice over the leak, claiming the government violated the Privacy Act, which prohibits the public disclosure of private information about U.S. citizens without first obtaining their consent.
As a result, a federal judge later ordered Herridge to reveal the identity of the source behind the hearings.
That judge ordered Herridge to pay $800 a day until she exposed her source.
She has also appealed this ruling and is awaiting a decision from the DC Court of Appeals.
Fox News, Herridge said, has helped her with her ongoing legal battle.
“One of our children recently asked me if I would go to jail, if we would lose our home and if we would lose our family money to protect my reporting sources,” Herridge said.
“I wanted to respond that this was impossible in these United States, where we say we value democracy and the role of a vibrant and free press, but I could not provide that assurance.”
“I feel that as journalists we are in a very dangerous situation,” the journalist testified.
‘These fines are intended to make your sources public. I am fortunate that that has been put on hold pending the appeal.”
“I hope I’m the last journalist who has to fight for two years in federal courts to protect my confidential sources.”
The former CBS News reporter repeatedly brought up the PRESS Act, which passed the House of Representatives in January and has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he is “hopeful” the bill will pass the House later this year and be signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Herridge advocated for the PRESS Act during her testimony, saying it could help future journalists avoid being forced to reveal their confidential sources
“The PRESS Act was written to prevent the federal government from compelling journalists to identify a source and any documents, content or communications records or information obtained or created by journalists in the course of their work,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who chaired the hearing, said.
“It guarantees a free press, independent of an executive branch that seeks to target or harass journalists to identify their confidential sources.”
“The importance of the press cannot be underestimated,” Roy continued.
