House Judiciary Committee Probes CBS-Herridge Firing

The House Judiciary Committee is calling CBS on the carpet over the firing of veteran reporter Catherine Herridge, who was probing the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, and the subsequent seizure of her personal records, The NY Post is reporting.

In a scathing letter sent to CBS News President Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews on Friday Rep. Jim Jordan, who chairs the committee, demanded the network reveal who at CBS or parent-company Paramount Global “made the decision to terminate” Herridge.

The committee said it also wants to know why her confidential files were “seized” as part of the termination.

“The unprecedented actions of CBS News threaten to chill good journalism and ultimately weaken our nation’s commitment to a free press,” the letter stated.

Herridge — who is the middle of a First Amendment case being closely watched by journalists nationwide — was among just 20 CBS News staffers let go as part of a larger purge of 800 employees at parent company Paramount Global.

A source with knowledge told The Post that the network boxed up all Herridge’s personal belongings except for her notes and files and informed her that it would decide what — if anything — would be returned to her.

Also on Friday, SAG-AFTRA condemned CBS News following a report that the network seized correspondent Catherine Herridge's files after she was laid off earlier this month, but the network is disputing that is what happened. reports Deradline.

Herridge, who was a senior investigative correspondent covering national security and intelligence, was among the 20 or so news division staffers laid off amid a round of cost cutting throughout Paramount Global.

A network source, though, disputed the report that her files had been seized.

A CBS News spokesperson said in a statement, "Catherine's personal belongings were delivered to her home one week ago, and we are prepared to pack up the rest of her files immediately on her behalf – with her representative present as she requested. We are awaiting a response from Catherine and/or her representative to do so. We have respected her request to not go through the files, and out of our concern for confidential sources, the office she occupied has remained secure since her departure."

"This action is deeply concerning to the union because it sets a dangerous precedent for all media professionals and threatens the very foundation of the First Amendment," the union said.