DC Federal Judge Christopher Cooper ordered CBS reporter, Catherine Herridge to disclose the identity of the person who gave her information for some stories she wrote about the FBI looking into a Chinese-American scientist named Yanping Chen. Chen said that these stories made her private information public.
According to the reports, when Herridge was working for Fox News in 2017, she received confidential information from an anonymous source and used it to write news articles.
Herridge and Fox News revealed that Chen was linked to China’s army and became the head of a college in Virginia, paid for by the people’s money. They also claimed that she hid her connections in the past to get this job, and maybe she was using it to share info with China.
In addition, Herridge also wrote that Chen’s husband was connected to the same college. The FBI had searched the college twice in 2012, but the government still gave them over $6 million later.
When asked about the identity of their source, both Herridge and Fox refused to disclose it. They argued that they are protected under the First Amendment. But judge, Christopher Cooper ruled in favor of Chen.
“The Court recognizes both the vital importance of a free press and the critical role that confidential sources play in the work of investigative journalists like Herridge. But applying the binding case law of this Circuit, the Court concludes that Chen’s need for the requested evidence overcomes Herridge’s qualified First Amendment privilege in this case,” Judge Cooper wrote.
The verdict further stated that “The identity of Herridge’s source is central to Chen’s claim, and despite exhaustive discovery, Chen has been unable to ferret out his or her identity. The only reasonable option left is for Chen to ask Herridge herself.”
However, the court stated that “the subpoenas that Chen sought were overly broad but the judge allowed more limited subpoenas that he claimed were central to Chen’s case,” Trending Politics wrote.
“The verdict mentioned that Chen had previously tried to unmask the leaker even after deposing 18 current and former governmental officials and obtained 22 declarations from persons with connections to the FBI investigation,” it added.
In response to the decision, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Director Gabe Rottman aired his disapproval and lamented that “While the Privacy Act provides essential protections for the public, using it to breach reporter-source confidentiality poses significant risks to a free press.”
