CBS News reportedly confiscated personal files from veteran investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge after she was fired from the network last week, company sources suggest. Herridge, who is currently embroiled in a First Amendment battle with the US Court system, was most recently covering the criminal probe into Hunter Biden just before her firing, raising questions about the events that led to her dismissal.
According to sources within CBS News, Herridge was one of 20 network staffers let go last week as part of a larger layoff at parent company Paramount Global, which terminated hundreds of employees at once. Herridge’s departure from CBS came as a surprise to co-workers, but the network’s unusual decision to seize her work laptop and personal materials has reportedly sparked larger concerns within the organization.
“The position of CBS has alarmed many, including the union, as an attack on free press principles by one of the nation’s most esteemed press organizations,” wrote law professor Jonathan Turley in an op-ed published by The Hill. “I have spoken confidentially with current and former CBS employees who have stated that they could not recall the company ever taking such a step before.”
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Other sources speaking to both Turley and the New York Post described the move as “extraordinary” and “unprecedented,” expressing concern about where the pressure on the network was coming from.
“They never seize documents [when you’re let go],” one source said. “They want to see what damaging documents she has.”
Herridge’s most recent assignment, which focused on covering the contents of Hunter Biden’s infamous “laptop from hell” and the criminal probe it sparked, had reportedly drawn additional scrutiny from the left-leaning network. Despite an understanding on Capitol Hill that Herridge was among the first to be updated on the investigation into the First Son, she frequently encountered “internal roadblocks” at CBS.
Her latest reports on the subject implied that Biden may have “retained sensitive documents related to specific countries involving his family’s foreign business dealings.” That report broke just hours before her firing.
Related: Catherine Herridge Predicts “Black Swan Event,” Major Threats to US in 2024
Separately, Herridge has also been involved in an ongoing legal battle that has drawn attention from journalists across the country. In 2017, during her time as a Fox News correspondent, Herridge broke a story about a federal probe into a Chinese American scientist who ran a graduate program in Virginia. US District Judge Christopher Cooper has ordered her to divulge the source that informed her of the investigation, but Herridge has refused to comply. She now faces the possibility of being held in contempt of court and fined $5,000 per day.
This case has been watched closely by other news organizations given its implications for First Amendment free press protections. Insiders at CBS have expressed concerns over the network being subpoenaed to reveal the source’s identity.
“This is a company that only plays checkers. They don’t play chess,” a network insider told the Post. “They don’t understand the ramifications of their actions.”
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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