Katherine Herridge, the acclaimed CBS News investigative journalist best known for her coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, told the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday that the network had “overstepped” when it seized her files after her firing. “I crossed a line that I shouldn’t have.”
Mr Herridge broke his silence for the first time since his controversial sacking in February, accusing his former bosses of potentially putting sources at risk.
“CBS News’ decision to seize my reporting records crosses an insurmountable line that I believe no news organization should ever cross,” she said in her opening statement at the hearing. Ta. She titled “The Fight for Press Freedom: Protecting Journalists and Their Sources,”
“Several parties have stated that they are concerned that they will be identified and exposed for working with me to expose government corruption and wrongdoing.”
Mr. Herridge, who is in the midst of a First Amendment lawsuit that has been closely watched by journalists across the country, was fired from his 20-member CBS News staff as part of a massive purge of 800 employees by Paramount. It was one of us.
“CBS News locked me out of the building and confiscated hundreds of pages of my reporting file, which contained confidential information about my sources,” Herridge testified.
“I fought back, and with the public support of my union, SAG-AFTRA, the records were returned.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) had requested that CBS provide information on the circumstances surrounding the seizure of the files.
Some officials on CBS called the seizure “unprecedented,” but the agency insisted in a written response to the committee before the hearing that the seizure was not unusual.
CBS said no one looked at the file and it was eventually locked away in Herridge’s former office in Washington, D.C.
SAG-AFTRA was key in negotiating the safe return of the files, but questions remain about why CBS News kept them.
During his time at CBS, Herridge encountered obstacles from higher-ups over his coverage of Hunter Biden, sources told the Post.
As the newspaper previously reported, she also clashed with CBS News president Ingrid Cyprian-Matthews. He was investigated and acquitted in 2021 on accusations of favoritism and discriminatory hiring and management practices.
Meanwhile, Herridge is focusing on a First Amendment case in which a journalist accused her of withholding the names of sources for an investigative story she wrote seven years ago while working for Fox News. The appeal was filed against U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s decision to seize the case.
Mr. Herridge said the lawsuit and contempt charges “took a huge toll on me and my career.”
“Recently, one of my children asked me if I would go to jail if I lost my home.
“I wish I had to lose my family’s savings to protect my sources,” she said. “We wanted to answer that in a country that claims to value democracy and the role of a vibrant, free press,
impossible. But I couldn’t provide that guarantee. ”
“This is not a fight we can fight alone,” Herridge added, thanking fellow journalists for their support and Fox News for covering his legal costs.
“When you go through a major life event like losing your job, as I have in the past few weeks,
Health insurance, report file seized and detained by former employer
There will be clarity on contempt of court,” she said. “First Amendment, Protection of Confidentiality
Sources of information and freedom of the press are my guiding principles. They are my North Star. ”
Herridge cited the importance of media laws that protect journalists from being forced to disclose information sources to government agencies.
The House passed the legislation in January, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told the Post last month that the Senate could soon send the bill to President Biden’s desk. he said.
In addition to Mr. Herridge, Mary Cavallaro, SAG-AFTRA’s chief news and broadcast officer, is also scheduled to speak Thursday about the union’s negotiations with CBS to return Mr. Herridge’s confidential materials after his termination.
The House Judiciary Committee will also hear testimony from former CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson. He left the network in 2014 over allegations that CBS killed stories that were detrimental to then-President Barack Obama.
