Former CBS News correspondent Katherine Herridge, who saw her files confiscated by the network after her controversial firing from CBS News in February, plans to break her silence before the House Judiciary Committee. The Post reported.
The highly acclaimed investigative journalist known for her reporting on the Hunter Biden laptop scandal is scheduled to testify before a powerful committee next week about the still-murky circumstances surrounding her departure from CBS News. , a person close to the situation revealed.
The potentially explosive hearing, titled “Fighting for Press Freedom: Protecting Journalists and Their Sources,” will be held April 11 at 9:30 a.m., officials said. .
In addition to Mr. Herridge, Mary Cavallaro, SAG-AFTRA’s chief news and broadcast officer, will also speak about the union’s negotiations with CBS to get Mr. Herridge’s confidential materials back after he was fired, the people said.
The House Judiciary Committee also examined former CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson, who left the network in 2014 over allegations that CBS News killed stories that were detrimental to then-President Barack Obama, the people said. They also plan to hear his testimony.
CBS News would not comment on whether Tiffany Networks would send a representative to the hearing.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) asked CBS to provide information on the circumstances surrounding the seizure of the files by March 1.
Some sources at CBS called the seizure “unprecedented,” but CBS insisted in a written response to the committee that the incident was not unusual.
SAG-AFTRA was key in negotiating the safe return of the files, but questions remain about why CBS News kept them.
CBS said at the time that no one combed through the files and that they were ultimately locked away inside Herridge’s former office.
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.
Sources say that during his time at CBS, Herridge faced obstacles from upper management over his coverage of Hunter Biden.
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.
At next week’s hearing, Messrs. Herridge and Attkisson will discuss the importance of the Press Shield Act, which protects journalists and their sources from government overreach and censorship.
Upon leaving the facility, Attkisson claimed he had been spied on by a “government-related group” and had classified documents implanted on his computer.
In a First Amendment case that Herridge has focused on, the journalist was held in contempt for withholding the names of sources for an investigative article she wrote while working for Fox News seven years ago. The court appealed the decision of U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper.
In January, the House of Representatives passed a press law that protects journalists from being forced to disclose information to government agencies.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told the newspaper last month that the Senate could soon send the bill to President Biden’s desk.
