WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to intervene after a judge ordered an $800-a-day fine for a former Fox News reporter if she refuses to reveal her confidential source for stories about a Chinese American scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged.
The high court rebuffed an emergency appeal from Catherine Herridge. The veteran investigative reporter has been held in civil contempt as part of a lawsuit that scientist Yanping Chen filed against the government over the leak.
Chief Justice John Roberts previously put a short-term hold on the fine as the court considered the appeal. On Thursday, the court said it was denying Herridge's bid to stay the fine. Justice Brett Kavanaugh supported granting the application for a stay, the court said.
Herridge published a series for Fox News in 2017 that examined Chen’s ties to the Chinese military and raised questions about whether the scientist was using a professional school she founded in Virginia to help the Chinese government get information about American servicemembers.
Fox News Media expressed disappointment in the decision.
“Protecting the confidentiality of journalistic sourcing and the integrity of the newsgathering process is fundamental to a free and functioning democracy. While we are deeply disappointed by the Court’s decision, our commitment to defending these critical First Amendment principles remains unwavering and we will be reviewing our options to further fight this injustice," the network said in a statement.
Herridge’s attorneys did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The stories relied on what Chen’s lawyers say were items leaked from the probe into statements she made on immigration forms related to work on a Chinese astronaut program.
Those include snippets of an FBI document summarizing an interview conducted during the investigation, personal photographs, and information taken from her immigration and naturalization forms and from an internal FBI PowerPoint presentation, according to court documents.
The six-year probe never resulted in charges against Chen, and in 2018 she sued the FBI and the Justice Department.
Her suit said that both her personal and professional life were upended amid a wave of negative media attention after the leak, leading to hate mail and death threats. She accused the government of violating the Privacy Act, which prohibits the public disclosure of private information about individuals without their consent.
A judge ordered Herridge to answer questions about her source or sources in a deposition with Chen’s lawyers. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington ruled that Chen’s need to know for the sake of her lawsuit overcame Herridge’s right to shield her source.
Herridge was interviewed under oath but declined to answer questions about her sources. The judge eventually held her in contempt, and the fine was set to begin after the order was upheld by an appeals court panel.
The case has been closely watched by media advocates, who say forcing journalists to betray a promise of confidentiality could make sources think twice before providing information to reporters that could expose government wrongdoing.
“Journalists facing contempt should not have to muster large payments to the court while they seek to vindicate First Amendment rights," said Bruce Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "And forcing them to betray source confidences always has a harmful impact on the free flow of information to the public.”
Chen’s lawyers say they have exhausted other ways to identify the leaker, and the identity is key to making their case that the Privacy Act was violated. Attorney Andrew Phillips said they hope Thursday's decision will help bring the matter to a close.
“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. That type of corrupt, unlawful conduct is exactly what the Privacy Act was designed to address," he said.
Herridge reported for Fox News and CBS News before recently becoming an independent journalist.
