Catherine Herridge says she is paying $800-a-day contempt fines to protect sources
"I wrote my 4TH check to the U.S. district court for $800 daily. Find for the content and I can tell you that the plaintiff in this case, yung pinch and is asking the court to raise the fines to $5,000 a day. This is designed to break the journalist mentally emotionally and financially."
About this episode
In this short NewsNation segment, host Katie Pavlich interviews investigative journalist Catherine Herridge about recently released Trump-administration-era documents that, according to the host’s framing, concern alleged Chinese efforts to acquire US voter files and claims of intelligence-community suppression of reporting on election interference. Herridge says an instant-message exchange involving a senior FBI counterintelligence official refers to a “shadow government”, and she recounts a conversation with Senator Ron Johnson, who she says described an August 2020 FBI “defensive briefing” about Russia that he believes was used to discourage him and Senator Chuck Grassley from pursuing the Hunter Biden laptop story.
Herridge further claims she has seen records referencing potential Chinese “blackmail” in a President Biden daily brief, which she speculates may have involved targeting Biden’s family; she argues that withholding threat intelligence from elected decision-makers harms US national security. She calls for accountability and suggests various criminal and ethics statutes could apply to officials involved in alleged suppression.
The discussion then shifts to a House Judiciary Committee criminal referral involving former special counsel Jack Smith. Herridge argues that metadata such as toll records can be more revealing than message content, and alleges Smith used National Archives requests as a “work around” to obtain the contents of communications linked to dozens of lawmakers—raising, in her view, serious constitutional and procedural concerns.
Finally, Herridge describes her own ongoing legal battle over source protection, saying she is paying $800-per-day contempt fines and that the plaintiff is seeking far higher penalties.
Key takeaways
- Herridge says a senior FBI counterintelligence official’s messages referenced a “shadow government”.
- She says Senator Ron Johnson told her an August 2020 FBI “defensive briefing” about Russia was intended to deter pursuit of the Hunter Biden laptop story.
- Herridge alleges a pattern of intelligence being downplayed or withheld from senior decision-makers for political or institutional reasons.
- She claims to have found records referring to possible Chinese “blackmail” in a President Biden daily brief, but offers speculation about the target.
- On Jack Smith, Herridge argues toll records can expose networks and relationship strength more than message content.
- She alleges Smith used National Archives requests to obtain message content tied to members of Congress, raising Speech or Debate Clause concerns.
- Herridge says she is paying $800 per day in contempt fines for refusing to reveal sources and that the plaintiff is seeking an increase to $5,000 per day.