Judge Finds Former Fox News Journalist Catherine Herridge in Contempt for Refusal to Give Up Source

Then-CBS reporter Catherine Herridge interviews then-acting secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, October 27, 2020.

Former CBS and Fox News journalist Catherine Herridge was held in civil contempt on Thursday after she refused to reveal the source of information that was included in a series of stories she wrote about Chinese-American scientist Yanping Chen in 2017.

U.S. District Court judge Christopher Cooper also ordered the investigative reporter to pay $800 per day until she gives up her source, though the ruling will be stayed for 30 days or until she can appeal it.

Cooper previously issued an order on August 1 compelling Herridge to reveal how she learned about a federal investigation into Chen that centered on statements Chen made on immigration forms related to work on a Chinese astronaut program. Herridge wrote a series of stories for Fox News in 2017 that detailed Chen’s connections to the Chinese military and raised concerns about whether a school she founded in Virginia was being used to help the Chinese government obtain information on American service members.

Chen, who sued the FBI and DOJ in 2018 over the leak, is seeking information about the reporter’s sourcing as part of her lawsuit. The scientist alleges that her personal information was leaked to “smear her reputation and damage her livelihood.”

Herridge, who was recently laid off by CBS News, declined to reveal her source during a deposition in late September, citing the First Amendment.

“The Court does not reach this result lightly,” the judge wrote on Thursday. “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.”

More on National Review