CBS News is being criticized for firing veteran correspondent Catherine Herridge this week after sources said she had hit "internal roadblocks" with her coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop story.
Herridge was among 20 CBS News employees who were put out of work with parent company Paramount Global's overall purge of 800 employees, and sources close to the network said staffers were outraged that she was fired, The New York Post reported.
"People can't make sense of this decision," an unnamed source commented, adding that staffers at the network's Washington, D.C., bureau where Herridge worked are "shocked and dismayed" that she would be fired after bringing credibility to the company.
Herridge, a former chief intelligence correspondent for Fox News, was hired by CBS in 2019, but her coverage of the Hunter Biden story had reportedly drawn attention at the left-leaning news network, reports The Post.
Herridge had also clashed with CBS News President Ingrid-Ciprian Matthews, who had been investigated in 2021 for her hiring and management practices, according to Post reports.
Author and journalist Michael Shellenberger on X lauded Herridge as a "hero," saying she has been "facing financial ruin and even prison for protecting her sources." Shellenberger also accused CBS executives of behaving "cowardly."
Meghan McCain, daughter of late Arizona senator John McCain referred to Herridge on X as a "national treasure" and said it's "insane" that CBS would fire her, especially during an election year.
Collin Rugg, the co-owner of the conservative website Trending Politics, said Herridge was fired after reporting about President Joe Biden.
"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,'" Rugg posted on X. "Wild."