The Supreme Court has refused to halt an $800-a-day fine against former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge, who is in civil contempt for refusing to reveal her confidential sources. The fines will continue to accrue while legal battles over source protection persist.
The Supreme Court's decision allows the daily fines against Catherine Herridge to continue, raising concerns about the protection of journalistic sources and the integrity of the newsgathering process in the United States.
The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to intervene in a case where former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge is being fined $800 per day for refusing to reveal her confidential sources. The fine is part of a civil contempt ruling stemming from a lawsuit filed by scientist Yanping Chen, who was investigated by the FBI but never charged.
Chen sued the FBI and the Justice Department in 2018, alleging violations of the Privacy Act due to the public disclosure of private information without her consent. Her lawsuit stated that the leaks upended her personal and professional life. A judge ordered Herridge to disclose her sources in a deposition, ruling that Chen's need for the information in her lawsuit outweighed the reporter's right to protect her sources. Herridge refused to answer questions about her sources during her deposition, leading to the contempt finding and the imposition of the daily fine, which was upheld by an appeals court panel.
Fox News stated that protecting the confidentiality of journalistic sourcing is fundamental to a free and functioning democracy and that they will be reviewing their options to further fight this injustice.
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