An award-winning investigative journalist claims CBS News made considerable efforts to suppress correspondent Katherine Herridge’s reporting about a Hunter Biden laptop just weeks before the 2020 election.
In her explosive accusation, Herridge revealed that she came to CBS News executive Ingrid Cipriani-Matthews and “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell in early October 2020 with evidence that the laptop contained “a Chinese energy firm. There was material about a “million dollar retainer”. With business texts and emails from Democratic challenger Joe Biden’s son.
But later that month, Herridge wrote that she was shocked to see “60 Minutes” correspondent Leslie Stahl say that the laptop “could not be verified” during a tense interview with then-President Donald Trump.
“As soon as I saw the broadcast, I felt sick,” Herridge, who was controversially fired by the Tiffany network in February, wrote in her recently launched article on Sunday Night. Newsletter,
“I knew the laptop records could be investigated and confirmed.”
She added that she was surprised by “60 Minutes” — which came under fire last month. Allegedly for editing comments Created by Vice President Kamala Harris to avoid “word salad” answers about the Middle East conflict – she was not working with the news division to verify her reporting.
There was such an “imbalance” between the two institutions, he said.
Before Stahl’s segment aired, Ciprian-Matthews contacted him and asked him if he had “confirmed reporting” on the Hunter Biden story for O’Donnell’s broadcast.
Herridge assured the executive that his extensive reporting included “working the phones, reaching out to people on the Hunter Biden email for confirmation, and cross-referencing court records.”
“I told Ciprian-Matthews that the materials examined included a million-dollar retainer from a Chinese energy firm, Hunter Biden’s former business partner Tony Bobulinski, as well as Hunter Biden text messages,” she said.
“When asked by Cyprian-Matthews whether there was a ‘Hunter connection,’ I replied, ‘Yes, all of them,'” she wrote.
Herridge said he then provided some of the examined records directly to Ciprian-Matthews.
But his reporting was never broadcast.
“I don’t know at this point what happened,” Herridge said.
The journalist said that based on his experience at the network, he found it strange that CBS News did not task an investigative unit in October 2020 to develop more reporting on the laptop.
“That would have been standard practice,” Herridge wrote.
The Post was the only mainstream publication at the time to report that the laptop belonged to Hunter Biden – which got the story banned By social media giants Facebook and Twitter.
It took an additional two years for CBS to air its forensic review of the Hunter Biden laptop data. By that time, Cipriani-Matthews had been promoted to the role of President of CBS News.
Herridge said she continued to advocate for her report on the laptop, which “determined that both data belonged to Hunter Biden and were not tampered with.”
“Our report was scheduled to be broadcast in November 2022, after the midterm elections,” Herridge said.
The Post contacted CBS News for comment.
Herridge was ousted earlier this year amid deep cutbacks at the network and parent company Paramount Global. CBS News seized Herries’ reporting materials. After it’s over.
Sources close to the situation claimed that the decision to withhold her files was made by Cyprian-Matthews. files were returned A few days later, amid pressure from the union representing Herries.
earlier this year, The post revealed Cyprian-Matthews was accused of sidelining and blocking white journalists Herring’s reporting on Hunter Biden laptop,
executive quit suddenly In August, and moved into the role of senior advisor for coverage ahead of the 2024 presidential election. It is certain that he will leave the company after the elections.
