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Former Fox News investigative reporter Catherine Herridge is asking the Supreme Court to protect her confidential sources after a federal court ordered her to identify who helped reveal a woman’s alleged ties to the Chinese military.
The outcome of this case could radically reshape the legal protections afforded to journalists working in the United States under the First Amendment.
Herridge was found in contempt and ordered to pay $800 per day for refusing to reveal the sources for her 2017 reporting on Yanping Chen, a Chinese-American businesswoman who ran a university attended by U.S. military personnel. His reporting raised questions about Chen’s alleged past as a colonel in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the potential disclosure of sensitive information about the U.S. military.
The War Department later cut off funding for military tuition aid to Chen University following a national security review, according to a filing by Herridge’s legal team. The school received about $200,000 a month in taxpayer-funded tuition assistance.
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Catherine Herridge, right, formerly of Fox News and CBS, asks the Supreme Court to protect her confidential sources. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Now, Chen, who was investigated by federal authorities but never charged with a crime, is filing a lawsuit against the federal government, alleging that officials improperly disclosed her private records to Herridge in violation of the Privacy Act. She sought to compel Herridge to identify his sources in this litigation.
The dispute has reached the Supreme Court, where Herridge’s lawyers are asking the justices to reconsider the legal standard used to force journalists to disclose confidential sources in civil cases.
His legal team argues that lower courts failed to properly evaluate the broader circumstances of Chen’s trial, including the Pentagon’s national security findings, and whether Chen can ultimately prevail in his allegations against the government.
The case also reveals a long-standing disagreement among federal appeals courts over the scope of reporter’s privilege, an issue the Supreme Court has not addressed comprehensively in more than five decades.
Herridge’s original investigation, published while she worked at Fox News in 2017, examined Chen’s background and his operation of the University of Management and Technology in Arlington, Virginia, which enlisted U.S. military personnel with tuition assistance from the Department of Defense.
The United States Supreme Court during a rainstorm in Washington, DC, Friday, February 20, 2026. (Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The report included photographs showing Chen in a Chinese military uniform and examined allegations that she hid her prior military service when applying for U.S. immigration benefits.
He also expressed concerns about the university’s collection of information about U.S. service members, including details about their military training and employment history. A whistleblower interviewed as part of the investigation claimed that information stored on the school’s computers was accessed remotely from China.
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Federal authorities had previously investigated Chen for potential immigration violations and counterintelligence concerns, but prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia declined to file charges.
Following Herridge’s reporting, the Pentagon completed a review of Chen’s university and terminated his eligibility for military tuition assistance funding, according to his filing.
Chen then filed suit against the federal government, alleging that confidential information from government records was improperly disclosed to Herridge. She argues that identifying the officials responsible for the alleged disclosures is necessary to establish her allegations under the Privacy Act.
Herridge declined to identify his sources, arguing that burdensome disclosure would harm journalists’ ability to obtain sensitive information from government officials and whistleblowers.
A federal judge ultimately ordered Herridge to disclose the sources and held her in civil contempt when she refused. The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the order, prompting the actress to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Fox News Media continued to support Herridge’s legal fight, including covering his legal costs, despite his departure from the network in 2019.
Former Fox News investigative reporter Catherine Herridge is asking the Supreme Court to review a ruling requiring her to reveal the confidential sources behind her reporting on a woman with alleged ties to the Chinese military. (Shedrick Pelt/Getty Images)
At the center of Herridge’s petition is a disagreement among federal appeals courts over how judges should evaluate a reporter’s claim of privilege when confidential sources are sought in civil litigation.
The brief argues that the D.C. Circuit applied a narrow test focused primarily on whether Chen needed the information to pursue her lawsuit and whether she had exhausted other means of obtaining it.
They argue that courts should also consider the strength of the underlying case and the consequences of forced disclosure, particularly where confidential sources linked to national security may be involved.
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This distinction could prove important for journalists who cover sensitive government issues. Under the standard challenged by Herridge, a plaintiff could obtain a reporter’s confidential sources even if other deficiencies in the lawsuit would ultimately prevent the plaintiff from recovering damages, according to the motion.
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