From Chen v. FBI, decided Tuesday by D.C. Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas, joined by Judges Michelle Childs and Harry Edwards:
Yanping Chen alleges that federal officials violated the Privacy Act by disclosing records about her compiled as part of an FBI investigation. The records were published by Fox News. In discovery, Chen sought to compel Catherine Herridge—one of the journalists involved in publishing the records—to identify who had leaked them. Herridge invoked a First Amendment reporter's privilege to avoid being compelled to testify….
{We recite the facts as alleged in the complaint. Yanping Chen was born in China. In 1987, she moved to the United States to study at George Washington University, from which she eventually obtained graduate degrees. Chen became a lawful permanent resident in 1993 and a citizen in 2001.
In 1998, Chen founded the University of Management and Technology (UMT), an educational institution headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Until January 2018, UMT participated in the Department of Defense's "Tuition Assistance Program," which pays a portion of tuition expenses for military students.
In 2010, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating Chen for statements made on her immigration forms. [Details omitted. -EV] In 2016, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia decided not to file charges against Chen.
