Last week, CBS News initiated a series of layoffs that included investigative reporter Catherine Herridge. While her termination from the network was a surprise, what happened afterward could have a chilling effect on whistleblowers: CBS News seized Herridge’s confidential files. She was reportedly doing research for a story about Hunter Biden's laptop. For all of the liberal media’s hysterics about how Russia, they’re pretty quiet about these KGB-esque tactics being used against a journalist (via NY Post):
CBS seized her files so they could give them to the corrupt FBI and its surveillance state cronies to help them hunt down and punish her sources. The American Stasi simply will not allow any criticism of its tyranny. https://t.co/OqQGLPh0gE
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) February 22, 2024
CBS News has seized the files of investigative journalist Catherine Herridge. This is a gross violation of journalistic ethics. If you are a whistleblower, you can not trust the corporate news media with your secrets. https://t.co/9iG4eF3Mp8
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) February 22, 2024
In the last week the FBI arrested their informant for narcing on the Bidens, planted a story about this same informant, & now Catherine Herridge — amidst a probe into the Bidens — is sacked & her files seized. Starting to feel like a 2020 redux https://t.co/F2WwjOV0S2
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 22, 2024
The acclaimed CBS reporter who was investigating the Hunter Biden laptop scandal before she was fired last week had her personal files seized by the network in an “unprecedented” move, sources told The Post on Thursday.
Catherine Herridge — who is the middle of a First Amendment case being closely watched by journalists nationwide — was among 20 CBS News staffers let go as part of a larger purge of hundreds of employees at parent company Paramount Global.
Her firing had stunned co-workers, but the network’s decision to hold on to her personal materials, along with her work laptop where she may have other confidential info, has left many staffers shaken, according to insiders.
“It’s so extraordinary,” a source familiar with the situation told The Post, noting that the files — which are presumptively now the property of CBS News — most likely contain confidential material from Herridge’s stints at both Fox and CBS.
The source said the network boxed up all her personal belongings except for Herridge’s notes and files and informed her that it would decide what — if anything — would be returned to her.
“They never seize documents [when you’re let go],” a second source close to the network said.
“They want to see what damaging documents she has.”
Over at The Hill, Jonathan Turley, who had the story first, noted the timing of Herridge’s dismissal is suspect since she was working on stories into Hunter Biden and the Biden White House, which had her going multiple rounds with CBS News President Ingrid-Ciprian Matthews:
The timing of Herridge’s termination immediately raised suspicions in Washington. She was pursuing stories that were unwelcomed by the Biden White House and many Democratic powerhouses, including the Hur report on Joe Biden’s diminished mental capacity, the Biden corruption scandal and the Hunter Biden laptop. She continued to pursue these stories despite reports of pushback from CBS executives, including CBS News President Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews.
Given the other layoffs and declining revenues, the inclusion of Herridge was defended by the network as a painful but necessary measure. But then something strange happened. The network grabbed Herridge’s notes and files and informed her that it would decide what, if anything, would be turned over to her. The files likely contain confidential material from both her stints at Fox and CBS. Those records, it suggests, are presumptively the property of CBS News.
For many of us who have worked in the media for decades, this action is nothing short of shocking. Journalists are generally allowed to leave with their files. Under the standard contract, including the one at CBS, journalists agree that they will make files available to the network if needed in future litigation. That presupposes that they will retain control of their files. Such files are crucial for reporters, who use past contacts and work in pursuing new stories with other outlets or who cap their careers with personal memoirs.
The heavy-handed approach to the files left many wondering if it was the result of the past reported tension over stories.
Regardless of motive, the company is dead wrong.
Of course, CBS News pushed back on these claims, with a representative saying they’re not going through her files and that her office remains secure. They will pack the rest of her materials on her behalf “with her representative present as she requested.”
Many are worried about the First Amendment ramifications because Herridge is also facing legal action concerning stories from her time as a correspondent at Fox News. In December, she was forced by the courts to reveal her sources regarding how she learned that a Chinese American scientist who was running a graduate program in Virginia became the subject of a federal investigation.
There isn’t much defense for her coming from her colleagues, which says everything. Would-be whistleblowers might be pressed to re-think coming forward if the new policy for establishment media outlets is to seize the files of terminated employees.
Despite what CBS News might say, do you trust them? Does anyone, especially given the subject matter at hand?