A federal judge has ordered a reporter to disclose her sources for an investigative series on an FBI investigation into a Chinese scientist named Yanping Chen, in a rare move that has received pushback from press groups.
Catherine Herridge, currently with CBS News but with Fox News when she reported the stories, must sit for a deposition and answer questions under oath about the identity and intent of the sources for the series, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled.
“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,” Judge Cooper, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said in a 28-page ruling. “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.”
Lawyers representing Ms. Herridge and Fox had argued that the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protects journalists from most requests and that Ms. Chen hadn’t met the threshold to override the protection.
‘Balance of Interests’
While previous rulings have found that journalists are protected by the First Amendment, a party may compel information by proving that the information they seek is critical to their case and that they’ve exhausted all other options.
“The balance of interests overwhelmingly favors protecting sources,” the lawyers said. “Plaintiff’s private interest in Privacy Act damages carries no broader public interest. Moreover, given the infirmities in the merits of her case, it is unlikely that Plaintiff can ever establish significant damages at all.”
Since filing the lawsuit against the FBI and other federal agencies, Ms. Chen has been able to take 18 depositions of current and former government employees and obtained declarations from others but has still been unable to confirm Ms. Herridge’s sources. She said she believes an FBI agent, an alleged FBI informant, or other government agents leaked an internal FBI presentation created by the agent to Ms. Herridge.
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