Investigative journalist Catherine Herridge accused CBS of “journalistic rape” after the network allegedly seized her records and files following her departure, claiming it was an attack on free press and the First Amendment.
By yourNEWS Media Staff
Award-winning investigative journalist Catherine Herridge accused her former employer, CBS, of “journalistic rape” for allegedly seizing her records and files after she was laid off during the network’s massive purge of employees in February. Herridge was involved in a First Amendment legal fight at the time of her departure, as she refused to disclose her source for investigative pieces she wrote for Fox News in 2017 regarding a federal probe about Yanping Chen, a Chinese American scientist.
CBS allegedly seized Herridge’s computers, records, and files, and locked her out of her email upon informing her of the layoff, according to a report by Jonathan Turley. CBS staffers expressed concern over the alleged action, stating they had never seen such a seizure before. Herridge confirmed to Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan that her position was terminated after she reported facts that painted President Joe Biden’s administration in a negative light.
Herridge stated, “When the network of Walter Cronkite seizes your reporting files, including confidential source information, that is an attack on investigative journalism. I just want to be clear, congressman. Wherever you work, if this happened to you, it’s an attack on free press. It’s an attack on the First Amendment. It makes it more challenging for reporters to work in the future. That disrupts the free flow of information to the public. They call journalism a profession for a reason, because it’s about an informed electorate, and it’s a cornerstone for our democracy. I can only speak for myself. When my records were seized, I felt it was a journalistic rape.”
SAG-AFTRA chief news and broadcast officer Mary Cavellaro said she is unfamiliar with any case of outlets seizing a former employee’s files. Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan expressed concern over the situation, stating, “That should scare us too. The first time it ever happened and it happens to an award-winning journalist who’s been in this profession for a number of years, known all across the profession, and that happens on the heels of what happened to Ms. Atkinson because both journalists were critical of the government. That’s exactly what the — that’s what journalism’s about, being critical of the government when the government’s doing things wrong and then to have a major news organization or the government itself do this …”
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper held Herridge in civil contempt at the end of February over her refusal to hand over her confidential source and sanctioned an $800 daily fine to compel compliance. She was ordered to disclose the source during an August deposition but refused to do so, citing First Amendment protections.