A court ruling found veteran television news correspondent Catherine Herridge in civil contempt for refusing to identify sources related to a 2017 investigation she reported for Fox News.
Herridge, who until recently worked for CBS News, declined to divulge information about how he learned about an FBI investigation into an academic when he testified about the matter in September.
U.S. District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper imposed a fine of $800 per day until Herridge complies. He will have time to appeal the decision before the fine takes effect.
Cooper had ordered Herridge in August to reveal his source of information for a 2017 story about Dr. Yanping Chen, a Chinese-American scientist who founded the University of Management and Technology. The Virginia-based school attracted military service members who received tuition assistance from the Department of Defense.
Chen became the subject of an FBI investigation in 2010 for statements he made on immigration forms about his work related to a Chinese astronaut program. Her home was searched and materials were confiscated, but no charges were brought against her.
Years after the investigation, Herridge reported a series of stories for Fox News about the case, which investigated whether Chen concealed his former membership in the Chinese military on his immigration forms. The investigation also examined whether Chen used his school to funnel information about the U.S. military to the Chinese government.
The Fox News reports included family photographs of Chen, excerpts from his immigration forms and a portion of an FBI memo.
Chen filed a lawsuit against the FBI and the Department of Defense in 2018, alleging that the records were leaked in violation of the Privacy Act, which generally prohibits federal agencies from disclosing internal records about a person without their consent. She is seeking an admission of guilt and damages as she maintains that the leaks damaged her reputation and her professional livelihood.
Chen has been searching for the source of the government leak for years without success, leading her to target Herridge and Fox News.
In 2022, Chen's lawyers served subpoenas on Herridge and Fox News. Herridge and the network moved to overturn them, claiming that his work was protected by the First Amendment.
But the judge ruled that Chen's need to know for his lawsuit against the government outweighs Herridge's right to protect his source.
Cooper wrote that he recognized the “paramount importance of a free press in our society” and the need to use confidential sources in investigative journalism. But he added that the court “also has its own role to play in upholding the law and safeguarding judicial authority.”
In a statement, Fox News Media expressed its support for Herridge.
“Contempt of a journalist for protecting a confidential source has a profoundly chilling effect on journalism,” the company said in a statement. “Fox News Media remains committed to protecting the rights of freedom of the press and freedom of expression and believes this decision should be appealed.”
Herridge moved to CBS News in 2018, where he was a senior investigative correspondent. She left the network earlier this month as part of a round of across-the-board staff cuts at CBS News parent company Paramount Global.
