WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Thursday, July 2, 2026, to block a daily $800 fine against former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge for refusing to disclose a confidential source. The decision came in a lawsuit brought by Yanping Chen, a Chinese American scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged.

A judge had previously ordered Herridge to pay $800 daily if she continued to withhold the identity of her confidential source. The Supreme Court denied Herridge's bid to stay this fine. Chief Justice John Roberts had earlier issued a short-term hold on the fine to allow the court to consider the appeal, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh supported granting the application for a stay.

Herridge is a former reporter who has also worked for other major news outlets and recently became an independent journalist. She has been held in civil contempt as part of a lawsuit filed by Chen against the government. The confidential source relates to stories Herridge published about Chen.

In 2017, Herridge published a series examining Chen's alleged ties to the Chinese military. This series prompted inquiries regarding whether Chen used a professional school she founded in Virginia to assist the Chinese government in obtaining information about American servicemembers. Chen's lawyers asserted that the stories relied on items leaked from the probe into statements Chen made on immigration forms concerning her work on a Chinese astronaut program.

According to court documents, these leaked items included snippets of an FBI document summarizing an interview conducted during the investigation. Other leaked materials included personal photographs, information from Chen's immigration and naturalization forms, and details from an internal FBI PowerPoint presentation. The six-year probe into Chen ultimately did not result in any charges.

Chen sued the FBI and the Justice Department in 2018, contending that her personal and professional life were disrupted by negative media attention following the leak. Her suit also stated that the leak led to hate mail and death threats. Chen accused the government of violating the Privacy Act, which prohibits the public disclosure of private information about individuals without their consent.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered Herridge to answer questions about her source during a deposition with Chen's lawyers. Judge Cooper ruled that Chen's need to identify the source for her lawsuit outweighed Herridge's right to keep the source confidential. Herridge was interviewed under oath but refused to answer questions about her sources, leading the judge to hold her in contempt. The fine was set to commence after the order received affirmation from an appeals court panel. Chen's lawyers stated they have exhausted other avenues to identify the leaker and emphasized that the leaker's identity is crucial for proving their claim that the Privacy Act was violated.