The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to block an $800-a-day fine imposed on former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge after she refused to identify confidential sources linked to stories about a Chinese American scientist investigated by the FBI but never charged.
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The court on Thursday rejected Herridge’s emergency request to halt the fine while she continued challenging the order. Chief Justice John Roberts had temporarily paused the penalty while the justices considered the appeal. Justice Brett Kavanaugh was the only justice noted as supporting a stay.
Journalist Must Face Daily Penalty Over Source Dispute
Herridge has been held in civil contempt as part of a lawsuit filed by scientist Yanping Chen, who is seeking to identify the government official or officials responsible for leaking information from an FBI investigation into her.
Privacy Act Lawsuit
Herridge wrote a series of reports for Fox News in 2017 examining Chen’s alleged ties to the Chinese military and questioning whether a Virginia-based professional school she founded was being used to obtain information about U.S. service members.
Chen’s lawyers say the reports relied on confidential material leaked from an FBI investigation, including excerpts from an interview summary, personal photographs, immigration records and information from an internal FBI presentation.
Although the FBI investigated Chen for six years, she was never charged. In 2018, she sued the FBI and the Justice Department, alleging the leaks violated the Privacy Act by disclosing her personal information without consent.
Chen said the publicity surrounding the reports severely damaged her personal and professional life, leading to hate mail and death threats.
Court Orders Source Disclosure
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered Herridge to answer questions about her confidential sources during a deposition, ruling that Chen’s need to identify the leaker outweighed the reporter’s interest in protecting source confidentiality.
Herridge refused to answer those questions under oath, prompting the judge to hold her in civil contempt. The daily fine was set to take effect after a federal appeals court upheld the order.
Chen’s attorneys argue they have exhausted other avenues to identify the source and that establishing the leaker’s identity is essential to proving their Privacy Act claims.
Attorney Andrew Phillips said the Supreme Court’s decision should help move the case toward a conclusion, arguing that Chen is entitled to learn who unlawfully disclosed her private information.
Press Freedom Concerns
The ruling has drawn criticism from media advocates, who warn that compelling journalists to reveal confidential sources could discourage whistleblowers from providing information that exposes government misconduct.
Fox News Media said it was disappointed by the decision, describing the protection of confidential sources and the integrity of the news-gathering process as fundamental to a free press. The company said it would review its legal options.
Bruce Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said forcing journalists to pay substantial fines while defending First Amendment protections could have a chilling effect on the flow of information to the public.
Herridge, who previously worked for Fox News and CBS News before becoming an independent journalist, did not immediately comment. Her attorneys also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 4 July 2026