(DCWatchdog.com) – A new leftist propaganda media attempt at censoring the Hunter Biden “laptop from hell” scandal has failed after CBS News has been forced to return confidential files belonging to a recently fired investigating reporter working on the revelations surrounding the first son’s case.
On Monday, CBS News finally surrendered confidential documents belonging to Catherine Herridge, a distinguished investigative reporter they recently dismissed.
The leftist network’s action was a response to growing demands from the House Judiciary Committee and the journalist’s union, The New York Post reports.
Herridge, who is in the midst of a crucial First Amendment lawsuit, was investigating the Hunter Biden laptop controversy when she was unexpectedly terminated amid widespread layoffs by the parent company Paramount Global nearly two weeks earlier.
Her personal documents and work laptop, potentially holding further confidential information, were promptly seized and secured at the CBS News office in Washington, DC.
“Catherine Herridge’s union representative picked up her materials this morning,” a CBS representative confirmed.
The union representing CBS News employees, SAG-AFTRA, verified the return of several boxes filled with Herridge’s reporting materials.
“The resolution of this matter sends a strong message of protection for basic First Amendment principles,” the union said.
The Post revealed on Friday that the House Judiciary Committee is initiating an investigation into the network’s alarming confiscation of the reporter’s documents as part of her dismissal.
“The unprecedented actions of CBS News threaten to chill good journalism and ultimately weaken our nation’s commitment to a free press,” the committee expressed in a letter to CBS News president Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews.
Ciprian-Matthews and the network’s senior management have been given until March 1 to disclose details regarding who accessed Herridge’s documents and who decided to keep them, among other information.
“This was a standard HR conversation about materials in her office, which Catherine then referred to her union representative,” a spokesperson for CBS stated on Monday.
It remains uncertain who initially ordered the seizure of Herridge’s documents—whether it was Ciprian-Matthews, CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon, or CBS CEO George Cheeks.
A high-ranking source from CBS told The Post that neither McMahon nor Cheeks played a role in deciding to retain Herridge’s documents.
Sources familiar with the situation mentioned that the network was notably disturbed when SAG-AFTRA strongly supported Herridge.
Herridge was one of 20 CBS News employees laid off as part of Paramount’s larger reduction of 800 staff members.
