Judge Halts $800-a-Day Fines Against Investigative Journalist Catherine Herridge for Refusing to Betray Confidential Sources in China-Tied Case

Investigative reporter Catherine Herridge secured a major, though temporary, victory for press freedom after a federal judge clarified that she will not have to keep paying an $800-per-day contempt fine while her legal team asks the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her First Amendment case.

The court also denied plaintiff Yanping Chen’s request to increase the daily fine to a staggering $5,000 and ordered that the money Herridge has already paid be returned, Herridge announced Friday in a statement on X.

The district court has clarified that I don’t have to pay the $800 daily contempt fine for refusing to disclose my confidential sources while our team asks the Supreme Court to hear our First Amendment case.

The court also denied the plaintiff, Yanping Chen’s request to raise the daily contempt fines to 5K. The court ordered reimbursement for the fines I have already paid.

This case is much bigger than one journalist, one story, or one news outlet. The outcome will impact every newsroom in this country and the ability of reporters to protect their sources and do investigative reporting that seeks accountability.

Yet, critical evidence remains hidden from the public and under seal by the District Court.

At a time when many corporate media outlets choose to settle or pressure journalists to surrender their notes, I want to acknowledge that Fox News has continued to stand behind me and fully support the First Amendment and investigative journalism by paying my attorney’s fees.

I remain committed to safeguarding the principles of investigative journalism and a free press.

FIRST AMENDMENT CASE UPDATE

The district court has clarified that I don’t have to pay the $800 daily contempt fine for refusing to disclose my confidential sources while our team asks the Supreme Court to hear our First Amendment case.

The court also denied the plaintiff,… pic.twitter.com/XNQ3ds3ZAc

— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) August 7, 2026

Herridge’s ordeal stems from her 2017 Fox News reporting on Yanping Chen, a Chinese-American scientist and founder of the University of Management and Technology in Virginia, a Department of Defense-funded school.

The series examined Chen’s prior service in China’s People’s Liberation Army, statements on her U.S. immigration forms, and questions about whether her school, which enrolled American service members using Defense Department tuition assistance, could have been used to gather information of interest to Beijing.

The FBI had conducted a multi-year counterintelligence investigation into Chen. Agents searched her home. No charges were ever filed.

Chen later sued the FBI and other federal agencies under the Privacy Act, claiming officials illegally leaked protected information about her to the media to damage her reputation.

Unable to identify the alleged leaker after years of discovery, Chen’s lawyers turned their fire on the journalist. They subpoenaed Herridge and demanded she name her confidential sources. She refused.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who was nominated by Barack Obama, held Herridge in civil contempt in February 2024 and imposed the $800-a-day fine designed to break her will. The D.C. Circuit later upheld the contempt finding.

On July 2, the Supreme Court denied Herridge’s emergency request to stop the sanction from taking effect. Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he would have granted the stay.

But the district court has now clarified that the fines are paused through the denial of any timely petition asking the Supreme Court to review the case—or through the completion of Supreme Court proceedings if the justices agree to hear it. The judge also ordered Herridge’s previous payments returned, according to the court update reported Friday.

That clarification matters. It prevents the contempt sanction from becoming a financial bludgeon before Herridge has exhausted her opportunity to seek review from the nation’s highest court.