Journalist ordered to pay $800 per day until she reveals her source

Former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge has been held in civil contempt of court for refusing to divulge a source at the heart of a story that triggered a defamation suit.

Herridge will be fined $800 dollars for every day that she does not comply with the court's order to disclose the source.

"The Court does not reach this result lightly," said the ruling from U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper. "It recognizes the paramount importance of a free press in our society and the critical role that confidential sources play in the work of investigative journalists like Herridge. Yet the Court also has its own role to play in upholding the law and safeguarding judicial authority. Applying binding precedent in this Circuit, the Court resolved that Chen’s need for the requested information to vindicate her rights under the Privacy Act overcame Herridge’s qualified First Amendment reporter’s privilege in this case."

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"Herridge and many of her colleagues in the journalism community may disagree with that decision and prefer that a different balance be struck, but she is not permitted to flout a federal court’s order with impunity," the order continued. "Civil contempt is the proper and time-tested remedy to ensure that the Court’s order, and the law underpinning it, are not rendered meaningless."

Herridge previously worked as an intelligence correspondent for Fox News and then moved to CBS. Before being dismissed from that post, she reported on a series of stories alleging that scientist Yanping Chen lied on government immigration forms about her work for the Chinese space program.

Chen has been suing the government, alleging that details about the investigation were leaked to destroy her reputation, and in particular the government is seeking the identity of the source who leaked these details to Herridge.