每天800美元的罚款恐将耗尽调查记者资源，这场重磅法律纠纷持续升级
这位前福克斯新闻记者因拒绝披露是谁曝光了其所谓的“中国关联”，将面临每天800美元的藐视法庭罚款
摩根·菲利普斯
福克斯新闻
2026年10月26日 美国东部时间上午7:00
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美国司法部对明尼苏达州法官提起 misconduct 投诉
福克斯新闻法律编辑克里·厄本在《America Reports》节目中，就美国司法部对明尼苏达州法官提起投诉一事进行分析。这些法官曾就一起正在审理的案件向媒体发表言论。
前福克斯新闻调查记者凯瑟琳·赫里奇正在请求最高法院保护她的机密消息来源，此前联邦法院已下令她指认帮助曝光一名女性“疑似与中国军方有关联”的人士。
此案的结果可能会大幅改变美国宪法第一修正案赋予新闻记者的法律保护范围。
赫里奇因拒绝透露2017年报道背后的消息来源被判定藐视法庭，并被要求支付每天800美元的罚款。她当时的报道对象是美籍华裔女商人陈延平（音译），后者经营着一所美军人员就读的大学。她的报道引发了外界对陈延平“曾是中国人民解放军上校”的指控，以及“美军敏感信息可能遭泄露”的担忧。
赫里奇的法律团队提交的文件显示，经过国家安全审查后，美国国防部随后切断了向陈延平所在大学提供的军事学费资助。该学校此前每月可获得约20万美元的纳税人资助学费。
《纽约时报》抨击针对记者消息来源的“滥用”特朗普传票
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凯瑟琳·赫里奇曾任职于福克斯新闻和CBS，右侧为其照片。（Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images）
如今，曾被联邦调查但从未被刑事起诉的陈延平，正对联邦政府提起诉讼，指控官员违反《隐私法》，不当向赫里奇披露了她的私人记录。作为该诉讼的一部分，她已试图迫使赫里奇指认自己的消息来源。
这一纠纷已提交至最高法院，赫里奇的律师正请求大法官重新审议在民事案件中强制记者披露机密消息来源的法律标准。
她的法律团队认为，下级法院未能充分权衡陈延平诉讼的更广泛情况，包括五角大楼的国家安全调查结果，以及陈延平能否最终胜诉其针对政府的诉讼请求。
此案也暴露出联邦上诉法院之间长期存在的关于记者特权范围的分歧，这一问题是最高法院50多年来从未全面处理过的。
赫里奇2017年在福克斯新闻工作时发表的最初调查报道，聚焦陈延平的背景及其在弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿市经营的管理科技大学。该学校利用国防部学费资助招收美军人员。
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2026年2月20日周五，美国华盛顿特区，暴雨中的美国最高法院大楼。（Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images）
该报道包含显示陈延平身着中国军装的照片，并调查了她在申请美国移民福利时是否隐瞒了之前的服役经历。
报道还对该校收集美军人员信息（包括军事训练和职业背景详情）的做法提出了担忧。接受调查报道采访的一名whistleblower（爆料人）称，学校电脑中存储的信息可从中国远程访问。
《华盛顿邮报》宣称其已对抗“毫无根据”的司法部传票
联邦当局此前曾因潜在移民违规和反情报问题调查过陈延平，但弗吉尼亚东区检察官办公室拒绝提起诉讼。
赫里奇的报道发布后，五角大楼完成了对陈延平所在大学的审查，并终止了其获得军事学费资助的资格，根据她提交的文件显示。
陈延平随后对联邦政府提起诉讼，指控政府记录中的机密信息被不当披露给赫里奇。她主张，指认涉嫌泄密的官员对于证明其《隐私法》相关主张至关重要。
赫里奇拒绝指认自己的消息来源，辩称强制披露会破坏记者从政府官员和爆料人获取敏感信息的能力。
一名联邦法官最终下令赫里奇披露消息来源，因她拒绝而以民事藐视法庭罪对其进行处罚。美国哥伦比亚特区联邦巡回上诉法院维持了该命令，促使她向最高法院提起上诉。
尽管赫里奇在2019年已离开福克斯新闻，福克斯新闻媒体仍继续支持她的法律斗争，包括承担其法律费用。
前福克斯新闻调查记者凯瑟琳·赫里奇正请求最高法院审查一项裁决，该裁决强制她披露关于一名“疑似与中国军方有关联”女性报道背后的机密消息来源。（Shedrick Pelt/Getty Images）
在赫里奇的请愿书核心问题上，联邦上诉法院之间存在分歧，即当在民事诉讼中寻求机密消息来源时，法官应如何评估记者的特权主张。
请愿书主张，哥伦比亚特区联邦巡回上诉法院适用了狭隘的标准，主要侧重于陈延平需要该信息来推进诉讼，以及她是否用尽了获取该信息的替代手段。
他们认为，法院还应考虑基础诉讼的强度以及强制披露的后果，特别是当涉及机密国家安全消息来源时。
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这种区别对报道敏感政府事务的记者可能意义重大。根据赫里奇所质疑的标准，即使诉讼存在其他缺陷最终会阻止原告获得赔偿，原告也可以获取记者的机密消息来源，根据请愿书显示。
$800-a-day penalty threatens to bleed investigative reporter dry as explosive legal fight escalates
The former Fox News reporter faces $800-a-day contempt fines for refusing to reveal who exposed alleged China ties
By Morgan Phillips
Fox News
Published October 26, 2026 7:00am EDT
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DOJ files misconduct complaints against Minnesota judges
Fox News legal editor Kerri Urbahn discusses the Department of Justice filing complaints against Minnesota judges speaking to the media about ongoing case on ‘America Reports.’
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 expose a woman’s alleged ties to China’s military.
The outcome of the case could dramatically reshape the legal protections afforded to journalists working in the U.S. under the First Amendment.
Herridge was held in contempt and ordered to pay $800 per day for refusing to reveal sources behind her 2017 reporting on Yanping Chen, a Chinese American businesswoman who operated a university attended by U.S. military personnel. Her reporting raised questions about Chen’s alleged past as a colonel for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China and the potential exposure of sensitive information about American service members.
The Department of War subsequently cut off military tuition assistance funding to Chen’s university following a national security review, according to a filing by Herridge’s legal team. The school had been receiving approximately $200,000 a month in taxpayer-funded tuition assistance.
NEW YORK TIMES BLASTS ‘ABUSIVE’ TRUMP SUBPOENAS TARGETING REPORTERS’ SOURCES
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Catherine Herridge, formerly of Fox News and CBS, is pictured on the right above.(Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Now Chen, who was investigated by federal authorities but never charged with a crime, is pursuing a lawsuit against the federal government, alleging that officials improperly disclosed her private records to Herridge in violation of the Privacy Act. She has sought to compel Herridge to identify her sources as part of that litigation.
The dispute has reached the Supreme Court, where Herridge’s attorneys are asking the justices to reconsider the legal standard used to force journalists to disclose confidential sources in civil cases.
Her legal team argues that the lower courts failed to adequately weigh the broader circumstances of Chen’s lawsuit, including the Pentagon’s national security findings and whether Chen can ultimately prevail in her claims against the government.
The case also exposes a longstanding disagreement among federal appeals courts over the scope of the reporter’s privilege, an issue the Supreme Court has not comprehensively addressed in more than five decades.
Herridge’s original investigation, published while she was working at Fox News in 2017, examined Chen’s background and her operation of the University of Management and Technology in Arlington, Virginia, which enrolled U.S. military personnel using Defense Department tuition assistance.
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The US Supreme Court during a rain storm in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.(Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The reporting included photographs appearing to show Chen in a Chinese military uniform and examined allegations that she had concealed her previous military service when applying for U.S. immigration benefits.
It also raised concerns about the university’s collection of information on American service members, including details about their military training and professional backgrounds. A whistleblower interviewed for the investigation alleged that information stored on the school’s computers could be accessed remotely from China.
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Federal authorities had previously investigated Chen over potential immigration violations and counterintelligence concerns, but prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia declined to bring charges.
Following Herridge’s reporting, the Pentagon completed a review of Chen’s university and terminated its eligibility for military tuition assistance funding, according to her filing.
Chen subsequently filed suit against the federal government, alleging that confidential information from government records had been improperly disclosed to Herridge. She contends that identifying the officials responsible for the alleged disclosures is necessary to establish her Privacy Act claims.
Herridge refused to identify her sources, arguing that compelling disclosure would undermine the ability of journalists 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 U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the order, prompting her appeal to the Supreme Court.
Fox News Media has continued to support Herridge’s legal fight, including covering her legal fees, despite her departure from the network in 2019.
Former Fox News investigative reporter Catherine Herridge is asking the Supreme Court to review a ruling compelling her to reveal confidential sources behind her reporting on a woman with alleged ties to China’s 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 journalist’s claim of privilege when confidential sources are sought in civil litigation.
The filing 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 alternative means of obtaining it.
They contend that courts should also consider the strength of the underlying lawsuit and the consequences of compelling disclosure, particularly when confidential national security sources may be involved.
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The distinction could prove significant for journalists reporting on sensitive government matters. 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 petition.