Federal judge blocks Trump administration from dismantling Voice of America

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and REBECCA BOONE

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge agreed Tuesday to block the Trump administration from dismantling Voice of America, the 83-year-old international news service created by Congress.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that the administration illegally required Voice of America to cease operations for the first time since its World War II-era inception.

Attorneys for Voice of America employees and contractors asked the judge to restore its ability to broadcast at the same level before President Donald Trump moved to slash its funding. Lamberth mostly agreed, ordering the administration to restore Voice of America and two of the independent broadcast networks operated by the U.S. Agency for Global Media — Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks — until the lawsuits are settled.

The judge denied the request for two other independent networks, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Open Technology Fund.

In a March 26 court filing, plaintiffs’ attorneys said nearly all 1,300 of Voice of America’s employees were placed on administrative leave, while 500 contractors were told that their contracts would be terminated at the end of last month.

The U.S. Agency for Global Media, which runs Voice of America, has operated other broadcast outlets, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Afghanistan. Congress has appropriated nearly $860 million for the Agency for Global Media for the current fiscal year.

Voice of America went dark soon after Trump issued an executive order on March 14 that pared funding to the Agency for Global Media and six other unrelated federal entities. It also moved to terminate VOA contracts with news agencies, including The Associated Press.

Voice of America has operated since World War II, beaming news into authoritarian countries that don’t have a free press. It began as a counterpoint to Nazi propaganda and played a prominent role in the U.S. government’s Cold War efforts to curb the spread of communism.

Trump and his Republican allies have accused Voice of America of having a “leftist bias” and failing to project “pro-American” values to its audience.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys say it reports and broadcasts the news “truthfully, impartially, and objectively.”

“That simple mission is a powerful one for those living across the globe without access to a free press and without the ability to otherwise discern what is truly happening,” they wrote.

Government attorneys argued that the plaintiffs failed to show how they have been irreparably harmed.

“Rather, Plaintiffs take aim at what is best described as a temporary pause on its activities while Global Media determines how to bring Voice of America into compliance with the President’s directive,” they wrote.

The Agency for Global Media’s leadership includes special adviser Kari Lake, a former TV news anchor and political candidate.

In his written ruling, Lamberth noted that the U.S. Agency for Global Media never finalized its grant agreement with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty for the current fiscal year, and the Open Technology Fund withdrew its legal request for a temporary restraining order earlier this year.

Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks do have current grant agreements in place, and like Voice of America, are funded by Congressional appropriations.

Lamberth said the funding cuts “reflect a hasty, indiscriminate approach” — particularly since they were made the same day that President Trump signed the congressional appropriation that funded Voice of America and the networks through September of this year.

Not only is there an absence of “reasoned analysis” from the defendants; there is an absence of any analysis whatsoever,” Lamberth said.

The labor union that represents workers at the U.S. Agency for Global Media called the ruling a “powerful affirmation of the role that independent journalism plays in advancing democracy and countering disinformation.”

“These networks are essential tools of American soft power — trusted sources of truth in places where it is often scarce,” said Tom Yazdgerdi, president of the American Foreign Service Association, in a press release Tuesday. “By upholding editorial independence, the court has protected the credibility of USAGM journalists and the global mission they serve.”