
In a disturbing move with First Amendment implications, a judge has held veteran reporter Catherine Herridge in contempt of court for refusing to reveal her sources, reported the BizPac Review.
Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York believes the move should worry advocates of the free press.
“In a case that has worried press advocates, veteran journalist Catherine Herridge was held in contempt on Thursday and ordered to pay $800 per day until she reveals the source for stories she wrote about Chinese American scientist Yanping Chen,” York wrote.
A serious First Amendment issue: 'Judge holds veteran journalist Catherine Herridge in civil contempt for refusing to divulge source.' From @AP: pic.twitter.com/sj9Qmz1p8x
— Byron York (@ByronYork) March 1, 2024
Left-wing news outlet CNN was also disturbed by the brazen move, “The case could have sweeping First Amendment implications for journalists and news organizations across the country.”
Herridge’s troubles are connected to Chinese American scientist Yanping Chen who sued the FBI after Herridge, when working for Fox News in 2017, claimed Chen was under investigation.
The lawsuit maintains the FBI leaked information about Chen to Herridge in violation of the Privacy Act. Both Herridge and Fox News were subpoenaed to expose the reporter’s sources.
“Fox News and Herridge aggressively fought the move, arguing that U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Christopher Cooper should invalidate the subpoenas due to First Amendment protections afforded to the press,” reported CNN.
Cooper didn’t buy it. In September he ruled that Herridge must reveal her sources. “Chen’s need for the requested evidence overcomes Herridge’s qualified First Amendment privilege in this case,” he argued.
Herridge was deposed after Cooper’s ruling and still refused to reveal her sources. Cooper then imposed a contempt of court order for Herridge, along with an $800 per day fine each day for noncompliance.
Herridge had requested that she be fined only $1 per day, according to the Post. The judge decided that the amount wasn’t nearly enough.
“Such a trivial sanction would not serve the fundamental purpose of civil contempt: ensuring compliance with a court order,” Cooper wrote. “It would permit Herridge to pay a pittance in perpetuity while continuously violating the Court’s directive and effectively vitiating Chen’s right to pursue her Privacy Act claim.”
“The Court does not reach this result lightly,” Cooper droned. “It recognizes the paramount importance of a free press in our society and the critical role that confidential sources play in the work of investigative journalists like Herridge. Yet the Court also has its own role to play in upholding the law and safeguarding judicial authority.”
Last June, lawmakers introduced legislation, the Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying Act, that “would offer important safeguards to journalists, including preventing the government from compelling reporters to disclose their sources,” reported CNN.
We passed the Press Act in the Judiciary Committee.
It would protect @CBS_Herridge from this nonsense.
We’ll keeping fighting. https://t.co/K4ScvT6DqD
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) March 1, 2024
Cooper was either unaware of the legislation or ignored it. Whatever the case, the fine was temporarily stayed to give Herridge time to appeal the order, reported the Examiner’s Ashley Oliver.
A judge just held veteran journalist @CBS_Herridge in civil contempt for not disclosing sources of reporting she did in 2017, imposing an $800 daily fine on her until she relents.
The fine is temporarily stayed to give her time to appeal the order. https://t.co/TfJXVYG4f5
— Ashley Oliver (@asholiver) February 29, 2024
Fox News put out a statement saying, “Holding a journalist in contempt for protecting a confidential source has a deeply chilling effect on journalism. Fox News Media remains committed to protecting the rights of a free press and freedom of speech and believes this decision should be appealed.”
Leftist Supreme Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said press freedom is “one of the First Amendment freedoms that undergird our democracy” and that the press holds a “general obligation of truth,” in her confirmation hearings.
Herridge’s attorney, Patrick Philbin, said Cooper’s decision will be appealed.
When both the left and the right agree on something, it is either nonconsequential or particularly important. In this case, it appears to be the latter.