Catherine Herridge, the former CBS reporter whose departure from the network sparked controversy, is set to break her silence at a House Judiciary Committee hearing next week, as reported by the New York Post.
According to a source familiar with the situation, Herridge, an experienced investigative journalist, will testify before the panel regarding her departure from CBS, the circumstances of which remain unclear.
The hearing, titled “Fighting for a Free Press: Protecting Journalists and their Sources,” is scheduled for April 11 at 9:30 a.m., according to the Post’s source.
Mary Cavallaro, SAG-AFTRA’s chief news & broadcast officer, is also expected to address the committee regarding the union’s negotiations with CBS. These negotiations played a crucial role in the resolution of Herridge’s situation after she was terminated, with her confidential materials being returned safely.
Furthermore, former CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson, who resigned from the network in 2014 amid allegations of story suppression related to then-President Barack Obama, will reportedly provide additional testimony.
CBS has not commented on whether it will send a representative to the committee’s hearing.
Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, had previously demanded that CBS provide information about the circumstances surrounding the seizure of Herridge’s files by March 1. The network, however, asserted in a written statement to the committee that the incident was not out of the ordinary, contrary to some reports.
Herridge was among the 20 CBS News employees laid off by parent company Paramount Global as part of a broader restructuring that affected 800 employees. Her departure followed reported disagreements with network executives over her coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop story.
Collin Rugg, co-owner of the conservative website Trending Politics, alleged that Herridge’s firing was linked to her reporting on President Joe Biden’s potential retention of sensitive documents related to his family’s foreign business dealings.
Both Herridge and Attkisson are expected to advocate for the importance of the press shield law, which safeguards journalists and their sources from government interference, during the upcoming hearing, according to the Post.
In a notable First Amendment case, Herridge has challenged a judge’s decision to hold her in contempt for refusing to disclose the identity of a source for an investigative article she wrote during her tenure at Fox News.
