{"id":2370800,"date":"2024-11-19T12:51:01","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T17:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-appears-unsympathetic-to-ex-fox-reporter-in-fight-over-revealing-sources-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-11-19T12:54:53","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T17:54:53","slug":"appeals-court-appears-unsympathetic-to-ex-fox-reporter-in-fight-over-revealing-sources-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-appears-unsympathetic-to-ex-fox-reporter-in-fight-over-revealing-sources-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Appeals court appears unsympathetic to ex-Fox reporter in fight over revealing sources &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fappeals-court-appears-unsympathetic-to-ex-fox-reporter-in-fight-over-revealing-sources-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2370800&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a recent appellate court hearing \u200bin Washington, D.C., judges expressed skepticism toward former Fox News reporter \u200bCatherine Herridge&#8217;s argument\u2063 against being held in \u200bcontempt of court for refusing to reveal her sources. The\u2063 three-judge panel questioned\u200c Herridge&#8217;s attorney about\u2062 the implications of her cases, reflecting a strong inclination to uphold a lower court&#8217;s ruling that\u200c would impose civil\u200b contempt sanctions on Herridge. If upheld,\u200d this decision could\u200c lead \u2064to substantial fines or even imprisonment \u2062for the journalist.<\/p>\n<p>Herridge&#8217;s legal counsel argued for a balancing test between \u2062press freedom and\u200b the\u200b privacy rights of Yanping Chen, a \u2062plaintiff\u200d who alleges that her confidential information was unlawfully \u2062disclosed by government officials to Herridge. Chen contends that the government breached the Privacy\u2063 Act during an investigation into her ties to the Chinese military, \u2063following\u200b which Herridge reported on \u2062the case, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">including sensitive personal details<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Herridge&#8217;s\u2062 appeals to First\u200c Amendment protections, the judges expressed \u2062a different\u2063 interpretation of precedents concerning press freedom, indicating \u200da\u200b potential shift away from automatically favoring journalist privileges. The court&#8217;s decision is pending and could \u200bhave significant ramifications for both Herridge and the \u200cbroader journalistic community.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Appeals court appears unsympathetic to ex-Fox reporter in fight over revealing sources<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1885082\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A panel of appellate court judges in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Washington, D.C.<\/a>, appeared skeptical on Monday of a longtime journalist&rsquo;s argument that she should not be held in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2433225\/veteran-journalist-could-face-severe-financial-sanctions-for-refusing-to-give-up-source\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">contempt<\/a> of court for refusing to disclose her sources.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The three<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/andrea-peyser-persecuting-christians-who-refuse-to-do-work-for-same-sex-weddings-is-nothing-less-than-bigotry\/\" title=\"Andrea Peyser: Persecuting Christians Who Refuse to Do Work for Same-Sex Weddings Is Nothing Less Than Bigotry\">-judge panel grilled<\/a> former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge&rsquo;s attorney about the case during <a href=\"https:\/\/media.cadc.uscourts.gov\/recordings\/docs\/2024\/11\/24-5050-Public.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">oral arguments<\/a> and appeared poised to agree with a lower court that Herridge should be held in civil contempt. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-nukes-bidens-unlawful-student-loan-bailout-again\/\" title=\"SCOTUS Nukes Biden&#039;s Unlawful Student Loan Bailout \u2014 Again\">appellate court&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s final decision, which could come any day, could result in Herridge facing hefty daily fines or even jail time.<\/p>\n<p>Herridge&rsquo;s attorney, Pat Philbin, tried to convince the three judges that there was a &ldquo;balancing act&rdquo; they should consider involving Herridge&rsquo;s press freedom and plaintiff Yanping Chen&rsquo;s claims that Chen&rsquo;s privacy was violated.<\/p>\n<p>Court precedent &ldquo;calls for a genuine balancing test and one that is heavily weighted to ensure that the First Amendment prevails in almost all cases,&rdquo; Philbin said.<\/p>\n<p>However, the judges repeatedly interjected to say they interpreted past court decisions about press freedom differently.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to take too seriously this sweeping language that the First Amendment protecting reporters&rsquo; ability to broadcast information that is unlawfully disclosed is like this hugely overarching value that has to prevail in all but the rarest of cases,&rdquo; one of the judges said.<\/p>\n<p>Chen has argued that the federal government violated the Privacy Act by leaking confidential information about her to Herridge, who, in turn, reported the information to the public. The government officials had obtained Chen&rsquo;s personal information while investigating whether she was affiliated with the Chinese military, Chen said.<\/p>\n<p>Chen gained U.S. citizenship in 2001, and after receiving a doctorate at George Washington University, she obtained funding from the Department of Defense to operate an online technology school in northern Virginia that catered to government workers.<\/p>\n<p>Herridge revealed through a series of reports for Fox News in 2017 that Chen had come under a yearslong FBI investigation for allegedly lying that she was never a member of the People&rsquo;s Liberation Army so that she could continue running the school. The FBI never pressed charges against Chen, but the DOD decided to strip Chen of her funding.<\/p>\n<p>Herridge&rsquo;s reports included family photos of Chen, as well as immigration records, and while Chen did not challenge the underlying decision by the DOD to take away her funding in court, she sued several government agencies to find out who shared her personal information with Herridge.<\/p>\n<p>Chen argued that she was entitled to know who from the government allegedly breached her privacy. After years&rsquo; worth of court proceedings in which she unsuccessfully pursued government officials, Chen then turned to Herridge as a last resort to find out who was behind the information leak.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blackmail-cotton-blasts-dems-threatening-to-pack-supreme-court-if-it-upholds-mississippi-pro-life-law\/\" title=\"\u2018Blackmail\u2019: Cotton Blasts Dems Threatening To Pack Supreme Court If It Upholds Mississippi Pro-Life Law\">district court agreed<\/a> this year with Chen that she had exhausted all resources available and had, therefore, overcome Herridge&rsquo;s First Amendment right. Herridge refused to comply with the court&rsquo;s finding and reveal her sources, leading the district court to hold her in contempt. The district court&rsquo;s decision does not go into effect until Herridge&rsquo;s appeal is complete.<\/p>\n<p>The case has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2433225\/veteran-journalist-could-face-severe-financial-sanctions-for-refusing-to-give-up-source\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">raised alarm<\/a> among press freedom advocates, who have been urging Congress to pass stronger protections for journalists and their sources so that the sources feel less fearful about their identities being uncovered.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Herridge case starkly highlights the need for Congress to pass a federal shield law that would protect journalists from being forced to identify their confidential sources,&rdquo; Gabe Rottman, a project director with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said of the case last year.<\/p>\n<p>Fox News has said it opposes the legal action against Herridge, warning that it would have a &ldquo;chilling effect on journalism across the country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If her appeal is unsuccessful, the district court has said that Herridge will face fines of $800 per day until she reveals her sources. Judges resort to monetary sanctions in civil contempt cases as a way to force a person into complying with the court.<\/p>\n<p>Herridge left Fox News in 2019 to become a senior investigative correspondent for CBS News. She was laid off in February and has since been reporting as an independent journalist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1885082\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1885082\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Appeals court shows little sympathy for ex-Fox reporter&#8217;s source dispute<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2370801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-19-at-11.00.18%E2%80%AFAM-1024x711.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32324,45315,5157,45316],"class_list":["post-2370800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-appeals-court","tag-fox-reporter","tag-journalism","tag-source-confidentiality"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-19-at-11.00.18%E2%80%AFAM-1024x711.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2370800"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2370804,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370800\/revisions\/2370804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2370801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2370800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2370800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2370800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}