Does the First Amendment apply to all journalists? Or only those who toe the left-wing line? If recent evidence is any indication, the latter is true.
As RedState reported, Catherine Herridge was fired from CBS News and had her files seized for having the audacity to report on stories that were unflattering to the Biden administration. Now, she's being held in contempt of court by a judge for refusing to reveal her sources, facing a nearly thousand-dollar-a-day fine for not cooperating.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Judge holds ex-CBS and Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge in civil contempt for refusing to divulge source of stories.
— Alanna Durkin Richer (@aedurkinricher) February 29, 2024
In the past, the judicial system has recognized the right of journalists to protect their sources. The news industry has typically circled the wagons when that line has been pushed, decrying it as a threat to freedom of the press. The reaction to the treatment of Herridge has not only been mute, but CBS News has actively participated in the attacks against her. Why? Because Herridge reported on the corruption surrounding the Biden family. That's unthinkable in the halls of legacy media outlets.
Herridge's plight seems tame compared to what Steve Baker is going through, though. On Friday, Baker was frog-marched in handcuffs by the FBI for reporting on January 6th. He didn't participate in any of the rioting. He didn't chant slogans or throw things at police. He was there documenting what was happening, something journalists have done since the inception of the profession. Yet, the Biden administration is looking to throw him in jail anyway.
Blaze Media Investigative Journalist @TPC4USA has now been taken into FBI custody for his J6 reporting
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 1, 2024
Watch: pic.twitter.com/OF9WVh26ER
BREAKING 🚨
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 1, 2024
Criminal charges against @TPC4USA have officially been released pic.twitter.com/MCBADFC90c
When Vladimir Putin has a journalist shoved out a window, that's unmistakable evidence of tyranny. Few would suggest otherwise. Yet, some of the loudest voices against that kind of authoritarianism are completely silent in the face of American journalists being paraded in handcuffs and held in contempt for simply doing their jobs.
Where is the New York Times to scream about how freedom of the press is at stake? We are talking about an outlet that went to bat for Palestinian "photojournalists" who participated in the October 7th attacks (in one case, carrying a grenade), claiming that being on the scene of a terrorist act is not evidence of culpability. Yet, the Times hasn't penned a single op-ed defending Herridge or Baker. I can only assume none of their former proclamations about "protecting democracy" were genuine.
What makes this all the more terrible is that such treatment is reserved only for journalists who don't fit the left-wing mold. There were reporters from mainstream press outlets on the Capitol Grounds on January 6th. None of them have been charged with anything. Certainly, there have been many journalists who have refused to reveal their sources and not be subjected to contempt of court proceedings.
The standard that has been set is clear: Defend Democrats or risk jail if you dare be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
That's a slap in the face to the very basis of America. The far left is willing to tear down every pillar of what once made this country great for short-term political gain. Hopefully, these cases make it to the Supreme Court and the wrongs can be righted. It shouldn't have to come to that, though. That a single body is now the only thing preventing the total destruction of rights in America is disturbing.
