Several days after CBS News seized the files, computers and records of fired CBS investigative reporter Catherine Herridge, her materials have been returned, according to SAG-AFTRA, the media union.

“SAG-AFTRA is pleased to confirm that earlier today a representative of our union monitored the return of several boxes containing Catherine Herridge’s reporting materials from her CBS News office in Washington D.C.,” the union said in a press release Monday evening. “Herridge is currently reviewing the materials.”

CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, announced layoffs of hundreds of staffers, including the highly respected Herridge, earlier this month. The firing of the Herridge, who was CBS News’ senior investigative correspondent, sent shock waves throughout the news industry.

One former CBS journalist told George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley that many employees were “confused why [Herridge] was laid off, as one of the correspondents who broke news regularly and did a lot of original reporting.”

Even more alarming, was the seizure of her files, which reportedly included information on privileged sources.

A CBS reporter told Turley that “he had never seen a seizure of records from a departing journalist, and that the move had sent a ‘chilling signal’ in the ranks of CBS.”

The media union said CBS News’ reversal “came after SAG-AFTRA’s intervention and widespread media coverage that underscored shared concerns about press freedom and the First Amendment.”

The resolution of this matter sends a strong message of protection for basic First Amendment principles. We further hope the public focus now turns to SAG-AFTRA’s continued efforts to support a Press Shield law that provides additional federal protections for journalists and their confidential sources.

Commenting on the good news, the Federalist’s Sean Davis asked a question that has been on a lot of minds.

“How much of it did CBS allow the corrupt FBI to view and copy before returning it?” Davis asked on X.

Herridge herself hasn’t commented on the seizure of her records or their return, but did link to SAG-AFTRA’s press release Monday night.