A federal judge this week said former Fox News journalist Catherine Herridge does not have to pay daily $800 fines while she continues to seek review from the U.S. Supreme Court in a source-confidentiality dispute.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper had previously imposed the daily fine after finding Herridge in civil contempt for refusing to identify confidential sources tied to her 2017 Fox News reports about a federal investigation into Yanping Chen, a naturalized U.S. citizen and founder of the University of Management and Technology in Virginia.
In a minute order, Cooper said the fines would remain on hold “through the denial of any timely-filed certiorari petition or the completion of Supreme Court proceedings should such a petition be granted.” Cooper also ordered that any fine payments Herridge has already made be returned.
The clarification follows the Supreme Court’s decision last month to reject Herridge’s emergency request to block the fines. That order did not resolve whether Herridge must ultimately disclose her sources, but it left the lower court’s contempt order intact while she pursued additional legal options.
The dispute stems from stories Herridge reported for Fox News in 2017 about Chen’s alleged affiliations with the Chinese military. The FBI investigation examined statements Chen made on immigration forms about her work in China during the 1980s. Chen was never charged with a crime.
Chen later sued the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging that government officials violated the Privacy Act by leaking confidential investigative material to Herridge and Fox. As part of that lawsuit, Chen sought to identify the source of the leak.
Cooper ordered Herridge to answer questions during a deposition about the identity of her source or sources, finding Chen’s need for the information outweighed Herridge’s interest in protecting confidential sourcing. Herridge refused, citing journalistic privilege.
The case has drawn attention from press freedom advocates because federal law does not include a broad shield law protecting reporters from being compelled to reveal confidential sources. Washington, D.C. and several states have shield laws, but similar protections do not exist at the federal level.
That gap can leave journalists facing a choice between honoring confidentiality promises to sources and complying with court orders in civil or criminal proceedings.
Fox News said last month that it was disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision.
“Protecting the confidentiality of journalistic sourcing and the integrity of the news-gathering process is fundamental to a free and functioning democracy,” a Fox News spokesperson told The Desk by e-mail. “While we are deeply disappointed by the Court’s decision, our commitment to defending these critical First Amendment principles remains unwavering and we will be reviewing our options to further fight this injustice.”
Herridge left Fox News in 2019 for CBS News. She later launched an independent journalism operation through Beehiiv.
