(GoRealNewsNow.com) – Former CBS News and Fox News journalist, and one of the best investigative reporters for many years, Catherine Herridge, shared her recent experience as she denounced CBS for what she termed “journalistic rape” when they confiscated her confidential reporting files after firing her.
Herridge, known for her investigative reporting on topics such as the Hunter Biden laptop story and U.S. National Security issues, is currently facing contempt charges for refusing to reveal confidential sources used in Fox News stories about a Chinese scientist under FBI investigation.
CBS fired Herridge in February amid widespread layoffs and immediately took possession of her files. The network later returned the files following public outcry and pressure from SAG-AFTRA, the media and communications union.
Herridge said in response to questioning from House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio.), “I was locked out of my emails and I was locked out of the office. CBS News seized hundreds of pages of my reporting files including confidential source information.”
“When the network of Walter Cronkite seizes your reporting files, including confidential source information, that is an attack on investigative journalism,” Herridge stressed. “I can only speak for myself. When my records were seized, I felt it was a journalistic rape.”
Fox News is covering her legal fees, and Herridge expressed gratitude to the union for their support after her dismissal.
The New York Post reported that during her time at CBS, Herridge faced challenges in covering the Hunter Biden laptop story.
“Congressman I reported out the facts of the story,” Herridge affirmed regarding her coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop and the Biden family’s foreign business dealings.
“You sure did!” Chairman Jordan remarked.
A CBS News spokesperson directed National Review to a letter addressing the situation and stated that none of Herridge’s files were seized but were rather secured and returned to her.
Moreover, the straight-shooter reporter testified before the Judiciary Committee alongside veteran journalist Sharyl Atkisson, SAG-AFTRA executive Mary Cavallaro, and First Amendment expert Nadine Farid Johnson, which focused on the importance of the First Amendment and safeguarding journalistic sources.
Atkisson, who left CBS News in 2014 citing favoritism toward former President Barack Obama, and Herridge warned about the potential harm to investigative journalism if sources cannot be protected.
“If confidential sources are not protected, I fear investigative journalism is dead. Each day, I feel the weight of this responsibility,” Herridge cautioned, referring to her legal battle.
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