Outrage: CBS News Faces Backlash After Axing Hunter Biden Laptop Reporter Catherine Herridge — 'People Can’t Make Sense of This'
Herridge's reporting included coverage of Hunter Biden and alleged corruption.
CBS News is facing heavy criticism and backlash following the firing of award-winning senior correspondent Catherine Herridge, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Herridge, who had been with the network since 2019 after leaving Fox News, was one of 20 CBS News staffers to lose their jobs as part of a larger layoff of 800 employees across parent company Paramount Global.
Herridge was one of 20 CBS News staffers to lose their jobs as part of a larger layoff.
The decision to terminate Herridge's employment left viewers and journalists outraged. Sources close to the network's Washington bureau where Herridge worked expressed “shock and dismay” at CBS's actions.
“People can’t make sense of this decision,” one source said.
Several insiders praised Herridge for “bringing credibility” to the company in her role as a balanced voice and for covering both sides of the political aisle.
But, according to the New York Post, Herridge’s recent assignment covering the Hunter Biden laptop scandal may have contributed to her dismissal.
Herridge was described as the "lone voice" behind the network's reporting on the Hunter Biden laptop scandal.
Sources indicated that Herridge faced “internal roadblocks” at CBS News while investigating the story. The network's decision to let her go was widely criticized – with some calling it a cowardly move.
Author and journalist Michael Shellenberger referred to Herridge as a "hero" and accused CBS executives of behaving in a "shameful" manner.
“CBS execs have behaved cowardly,” Shellenberger wrote this month. “Shame on them.”
Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Senator John McCain, also expressed her astonishment at Herridge's firing. She called Herridge a “national treasure.”
“I can’t tell you what an insane move it is for [CBS News] to let her go — particularly during an election year,” Meghan McCain said.
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“I can’t tell you what an insane move it is for [CBS News] to let her go — particularly during an election year,” McCain wrote.
Others speculated that Herridge’s exit may be connected to her recent reporting on President Joe Biden.
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“Herridge was fired just hours after she reported on how Biden may have retained sensitive documents related to specific countries involving his family’s foreign business dealings,” conservative journalist Collin Rugg noted. “Wild.”
Herridge's departure this month also came at a time when she was already facing legal issues. She has been ordered by a U.S. district judge to reveal her source for an investigative piece she wrote in 2017 while working for Fox News.
Putin described Biden as 'a politician of the old school.'
Herridge's refusal to comply with the order could reportedly result in her being held in contempt of court and having to pay fines amounting to $5,000 a day. Fox News is said to be covering her legal expenses, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Critics have since argued that CBS News's decision to fire Herridge is “tone-deaf” and contradictory – especially considering her ongoing fight to protect the rights of journalists.
Jonathan Turley, who serves as the Shapiro chair of public interest law at George Washington University, called on CBS to “stand” with Herridge and the “journalistic values” she is fighting to uphold.
“[Herridge] brought balance to the reporting and is facing possible jailing over her refusal to disclose her sources,” Turley tweeted this week. “CBS should be standing with her and the journalistic values that she is fighting to protect.”
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