A federal judge on Thursday charged veteran investigative reporter Katherine Herridge with civil contempt of court for failing to uphold journalistic ethics and reveal confidential sources.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered Herridge to pay an $800 fine for each day he divulges the information required by the court.
cooper I have written At his command:
The court did not make this decision lightly. The organization recognizes the paramount importance of press freedom in our society and the important role that confidential sources play in the work of investigative journalists like Herridge. However, courts also have a unique role to play in upholding the law and protecting judicial power.
Fortunately, Cooper maintained the sentence for 30 days, giving Herridge enough time to appeal before the daily fines were imposed.
The incident stems from Herridge’s tenure at Fox News. In 2017, she reported on a federal investigation into Chinese-American scientist Yangping Chen. The person was previously investigated by the FBI over “alleged military ties to China and whether she lied on her U.S. immigration documents,” the New York Times reported. I got it.. The FBI did not indict Chen.
In 2018, Chen sued The federal government alleged that government employees leaked her information to Herridge in violation of the law. privacy law.
Last year, Cooper ordered Herridge to reveal her sources about Chen, but she refused, citing First Amendment rights.
Following Thursday’s Cooper ruling, Herridge’s attorney Patrick Philbin said, “We disagree with the district court’s decision. We intend to appeal to protect Mr. Herridge’s First Amendment rights.” Stated.
Meanwhile, Fox News decried the “severely chilling effect” the Cooper decision would have on journalism and the First Amendment.
Advocacy groups concerned about the First Amendment and freedom of the press also condemned Cooper’s decision, and traditional media outlets also wrote articles about it. But media outrage over Cooper’s decision was noticeably absent.
In fact, by Friday morning, CNN was the only cable or broadcast news network to cover the story on television. He only lasted 13 seconds.
There has also been a notable lack of social media posts by virtue media commentators and reporters condemning Mr. Cooper’s decision and the threat it poses to journalism.
Perhaps the reason there was no outrage from Ms. Herridge’s colleagues is that Ms. Herridge, an award-winning reporter, frequently reports on subjects that legacy media ignore, most recently leading to CBS News’ decision to fire her. This may stem from the fact that he previously covered corruption allegations in the Biden family and the Hunter Biden story. employment.
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