Appeals judge halts $800-a-day contempt fines for journalist Catherine Herridge

A federal appeals court judge overturned a contempt order that required former one outlet investigative reporter Catherine Herridge to pay $800 each day for not revealing her confidential sources, and ordered a refund of the $14,400 already paid. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper also rejected a motion to raise the fine to $5,000. Herridge plans to ask the Supreme Court to review the matter, which stems from her 2017 coverage of Yanping Chen, a Chinese-American scientist under FBI investigation.

Chen had subpoenaed Herridge as a third-party witness and sought the identities of the leakers. The decision came after media organizations warned that the fine undermined press freedom. One outlet, covering Herridge’s legal costs, warned that forcing source disclosure chills investigative reporting, while the Freedom of the Press Foundation called the original contempt order a blow to journalists.