Bad Times at Black Rock: CBS Causes Uproar After Seizing the Notes of Investigative Reporter

Below is my column in The Hill on the trouble brewing at CBS over the seizure of the files of acclaimed investigative reporter Catherine Herridge. The column broke the story on the uproar over not just her being laid off but her being locked out from her files. I am now hearing from CBS sources that the network is moving toward a resolution to turn over the files after the outcry. However, the concerns over Herridge’s firing and the network’s handling of her confidential notes continues to draw fire from journalists and commentators. The union issued a statement (below) after the column that “CBS News’ decision to seize Catherine Herridge’s reporter notes and research … sets a dangerous precedent for all media professionals and threatens the very foundation of the First Amendment.”

“Anyone who isn’t confused really doesn’t understand the situation.” Those words, from CBS icon Edward R. Murrow, came to mind this week after I spoke with journalists at the network.

There is trouble brewing at Black Rock, the headquarters of CBS, after the firing of Catherine Herridge, an acclaimed investigative reporter. Many of us were shocked after Herridge was included in layoffs this month, but those concerns have increased after CBS officials took the unusual step of seizing her files, computers and records, including information on privileged sources.

The position of CBS has alarmed many, including the union, as an attack on free press principles by one of the nation’s most esteemed press organizations.

I have spoken confidentially with current and former CBS employees who have stated that they could not recall the company ever taking such a step before. One former CBS journalist said that many employees “are confused why [Herridge] was laid off, as one of the correspondents who broke news regularly and did a lot of original reporting.”

That has led to concerns about the source of the pressure. He added that he had never seen a seizure of records from a departing journalist, and that the move had sent a “chilling signal” in the ranks of CBS.

A former CBS manager, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said that he had “never heard of anything like this.” He attested to the fact that, in past departures, journalists took all of their files and office contents. Indeed, the company would box up everything from cups to post-its for departing reporters. He said the holding of the material was “outrageous” and clearly endangered confidential sources.

A source within the the union, SAG-AFTRA, confirmed that it has raised this controversy with CBS and remains extremely concerned about the effect of this action on journalistic practices and source confidentiality. The union believes this is “very unusual” and goes far beyond this individual case. “It is a matter of principle,” a union spokesperson added. “It is a matter of serious concern. We are considering all of our options.”

For full disclosure, I was under contract twice with CBS as a legal analyst. I cherished my time at the network. I have also known Herridge for years in both legal and journalistic capacities.

CBS is one of the world’s premier news organizations, with a legendary history that includes figures from Murrow to Walter Cronkite to Roger Mudd. That is why the hiring of Herridge was so welcomed by many of us. The network was at risk of becoming part of the journalistic herd, an echo-chamber for Democratic and liberal narratives. It had been mired in third place for ages, and it was moving in the wrong direction by alienating half of the country.

Herridge had been a celebrated investigative reporter at Fox News. An old-school investigative journalist, she is viewed as a hard-driving, middle-of-the-road reporter cut from the same cloth as the network’s legendary figures.

The timing of Herridge’s termination immediately raised suspicions in Washington. She was pursuing stories that were unwelcomed by the Biden White House and many Democratic powerhouses, including the Hur report on Joe Biden’s diminished mental capacity, the Biden corruption scandal and the Hunter Biden laptop. She continued to pursue these stories despite reports of pushback from CBS executives, including CBS News President Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews.

Given the other layoffs and declining revenues, the inclusion of Herridge was defended by the network as a painful but necessary measure. But then something strange happened. The network grabbed Herridge’s notes and files and informed her that it would decide what, if anything, would be turned over to her. The files likely contain confidential material from both her stints at Fox and CBS. Those records, it suggests, are presumptively the property of CBS News.

For many of us who have worked in the media for decades, this action is nothing short of shocking. Journalists are generally allowed to leave with their files. Under the standard contract, including the one at CBS, journalists agree that they will make files available to the network if needed in future litigation. That presupposes that they will retain control of their files. Such files are crucial for reporters, who use past contacts and work in pursuing new stories with other outlets or who cap their careers with personal memoirs.

The heavy-handed approach to the files left many wondering if it was the result of the past reported tension over stories.

These files may contain sources who were given confidentiality by Herridge. The company is suggesting that the privilege of confidentiality (and the material) rest ultimately with CBS. As a threshold matter, that cannot be the case with regard to files that were generated during Herridge’s long stint with Fox News. Yet CBS appears to be retaining those files, too.

When sources accept confidentiality assurances, it is an understanding that rests with the reporter. It is a matter of trust that can take a long time to establish on a personal level between a reporter and a source.

It is certainly understood that the network stands behind that pledge. However, most sources understand that their identity and information will be kept protected by the reporter and only disclosed to a select group of editors or colleagues when necessary. It is the reporter who implicitly promises to go to jail to protect confidentiality — and many have done so. Such agreements are less likely to occur if sources are told that any number of unnamed individuals, including non-journalists, could have access or custody of these files.

When “Deep Throat” agreed to disclose his identity to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, he was assured that they would protect it until his death. He would not have been so inclined if he had been told that this was a type of privilege by committee with potential disclosures to corporate, legal and HR personnel. Reporters like Herridge have long served as the primary defenders of privileged sources. Indeed, Herridge is still in court defending confidentiality over a series of stories at Fox News in 2017, even at the risk of being held in contempt.

CBS is suggesting that it will allow unnamed individuals to rifle through Herridge’s files to determine what will remain with the network and what will be returned to the reporter. That could fundamentally alter how reporters operate and how willing sources are to trust assurances that they will be protected.

In criminal cases involving privileged information, the government has an elaborate “filter team” system to wall off access to information under review. In the court system, judges use in camera and ex parte reviews to protect such information. Ironically, the media itself seems to take a more ad hoc approach. Indeed, CBS seems to have adopted a “Trust us, we’re the media” approach. However, that could expose these files to the access of unnamed lawyers, tech staff and others who are conducting this inventory and analysis.

CBS should reconsider this move before it does real harm to itself or its reporters. Ironically, it should not want to be the custodian of such records, which can expose the company to production demands in litigation, such as the ongoing fight over the confidentiality of the Fox sources. To store such documents is to invite a storm of subpoenas.

CBS could be forcing a showdown with the union, which must protect not only this journalist but all journalists seeking to maintain control and confidentiality of their files.

The union may have no choice but to go to court to force CBS to protect journalistic values, including a demand for an injunction to force the company to secure these files and bar review until a court has had a chance to consider these questions of confidential and proprietary claims to the files.

CBS itself will have to look into that mirror and answer some questions of what happened to the confidential records of Catherine Herridge.

Communist Chinese Firm Sent Hunter Biden Enterprise $3 Million
As ‘Thank You’ For Work When Joe Biden Held Office, Comer Says

BY JAMES LYNCH. INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, Jan 26, 2024, dailycaller.com

Hunter Biden’s former business associate Rob Walker confirmed Chinese firm CEFC wired him $3 million as a “thank you” payment for work during Joe Biden’s vice presidency, according to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer.

Walker, a key figure in the Biden family’s Chinese and Romanian business dealings, testified before Congress Friday about the relationship the Bidens had with both CEFC and Romanian oligarch Gabriel Popoviciu, Comer said Friday night. (RELATED: Five Questions That Need Answers From Biden Associate Rob Walker)

“Today’s interview confirmed Hunter Biden and his associates’ work with the Chinese government-linked energy company began over a year before Joe Biden left the vice presidency, but the Bidens and their associates held off being paid by the Chinese while Joe Biden was in office,” Comer said in a press release.

“The Chinese company paid Hunter Biden and his associates $3 million shortly after Joe Biden left office as a ‘thank you’ for the work they did while Joe Biden was in office. Members of the Biden family received payments from the Chinese deal even though they did not work on it,” Comer added.

State Energy HK, a CEFC account, wired Walker roughly $3 million in March 2017 shortly after Joe Biden’s vice presidency concluded, according to bank records and Hunter Biden’s federal tax indictment in California. Walker wired approximately $1 million of the funds to Biden family accounts and $1 million to a firm tied to business associate James Gilliar. (RELATED: Biden Business Associate Admits He Wasn’t Really Sure What Hunter Actually Brought To The Table, Comer Says)

READ THE INDICTMENT:

Walker confirmed Joe Biden met with CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming and he confirmed the Biden family and its business associates worked for CEFC for over a year before Joe Biden left office, the Oversight Committee said.

Walker previously told the FBI that Joe Biden briefly met with CEFC associates following his vice presidency, according to a transcript of an interview Walker gave the FBI in December 2020.

The tax indictment states that the relationship with CEFC began in late 2015 and went from there. Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to federal tax charges on Jan. 11.

Tony Bobulinski, another ex-business partner, told the FBI that Hunter and his uncle, James Biden, began their relationship with CEFC when Joe Biden was vice president, according to FBI notes.

CEFC did not pay the Bidens for their work until the State Energy HK wire. Later in 2017, Hunter and James Biden established a joint venture called Hudson West III with CEFC that hauled in around $3.5 million.

Walker said in his opening statement Joe Biden had no involvement with the business enterprise when he was in office or as a private citizen, and said assertions otherwise are false. His testimony is part of the House GOP’s impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden’s alleged involvement in his son’s lucrative foreign business dealings.

Devon Archer, a former business associate, testified that Joe Biden spoke with his son’s business associates 20 or so times and met with them in person on multiple occasions. He specifically described how the Biden family “brand” protected Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings when Hunter Biden was a board member. (RELATED: Burisma Slashed Hunter Biden’s Salary When Donald Trump Took Office, New Indictment Shows)

Hunter Biden’s business dealings with Popoviciu began during Joe Biden’s vice presidency and at one point, Hunter lobbied the U.S. Ambassador to Romania on his client’s behalf, Walker confirmed, according to Comer.

“Additionally, as Joe Biden was leading anti-corruption efforts in Romania, Hunter Biden and Rob Walker began an ill-defined business relationship with Romanian businessman Gabriel Popoviciu,” Comer stated.

“Mr. Walker also confirmed that he and Hunter Biden received payments from Popoviciu beginning in 2015 that continued throughout the rest of Joe Biden’s vice presidency. In exchange for lucrative payments, Hunter Biden traveled to Romania and engaged with the U.S. Ambassador to Romania to discuss Mr. Popoviciu’s foreign legal case,” Comer added.

Popoviciu’s Cyprus-based LLC wired Walker roughly $3 million over numerous payments from November 2015 to May 2017, bank records and the indictment show. Biden family accounts hauled in $1 million of the payments from Popoviciu.

Hunter Biden’s testimony is scheduled for Feb. 28.

Tags : hunter biden hunter biden indictment james comer joe biden hunter biden rob walker

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