Fired CBS journalist Catherine Herridge, who dug up dirt on Hunter Biden, says she faces ‘crippling’ fines of $800 per DAG to protect source amid legal battle
Despite being ordered to pay ‘crippling’ fines of $800 a day, a former investigative reporter said she still would not reveal the confidential sources behind her reporting.
Catherine Herridge is an award-winning journalist who served as 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 resignation from CBS News in February that resulted in 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 taken to protect her sources and advocates for the PRESS Act, which aims to protect journalists from revealing their sources.
“The fact that I have been fighting in the courts for two years and now face potentially crippling fines of $800 a day to protect my reporting sources underscores the vital importance of the Press Act,” she said.
Former CBS reporter Catherine Herridge testified Thursday about how she faces federal prosecution for protecting the sources behind a 2017 investigative series
CBS News fired Herridge for undisclosed reasons in February and later locked the reporter out of her office for days as they seized her reporting materials
‘When you go through major life events like I have in recent weeks, losing your job, losing your company health insurance, having your report and files seized by your former employer and being held in contempt of court gives you clarity.’
‘The First Amendment with 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 in 2017 for Fox News about a Chinese scientist being investigated by the FBI.
This person, Yanping Chen, was never charged by the agency.
In 2018, Chen later sued the FBI and the Department of Justice over the leak, alleging that the government had violated the Privacy Act, which bars public disclosure of private information about US 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 reveals her source.
She has also appealed that decision and is awaiting a decision from the DC Court of Appeals.
Fox News, Herridge said, has helped her with her ongoing legal battles.
“One of our kids recently asked me if I wanted to go to jail, if we wanted to lose our house and if we wanted to lose our family savings to protect my reporting sources,” Herridge said.
‘I wanted to answer that in this United States, where we say we value democracy and the role of a vibrant and free press, that was impossible, but I could not give that assurance.’
“I feel like we’re in a very dangerous place as journalists,” the reporter testified.
“These fines are designed so that you have to disclose your sources. I am lucky that it has been postponed until the appeal.’
“I hope I’m the last journalist to spend two years in federal court fighting to protect my confidential sources.”
The former CBS News reporter repeatedly brought up the PRESS Act, which passed the House 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 upper chamber and be signed by President Joe Biden later this year.
Herridge advocated the PRESS Act during his testimony, saying it could help future journalists from being forced to reveal their confidential sources
“The Press Act was written to prevent the federal government from compelling journalists to identify a source as well as any records, content or communications documents or information obtained or created by journalists in the course of their work,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who chaired the hearing, said.
‘It ensures a free press independent of an executive branch that seeks to attack or harass journalists to identify their confidential sources.’
“The importance of the press cannot be underestimated,” Roy continued.