Judge orders restoration of Voice of America

Source: Hacker News

Court Order Restores Voice of America

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to restore the government‑run Voice of America’s (VOA) operations after it had effectively been shut down a year ago, putting hundreds of employees who had been on administrative leave back to work.

U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth gave the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) a week to develop a plan to put VOA back on the air. The agency had been operating with a skeleton staff since President Donald Trump issued an executive order to shut it down.

Background

• In March 2023, President Trump directed the closure of VOA, citing alleged bias.
• Kari Lake, Trump’s nominee to lead USAGM, acted on that order, shelving 1,042 of VOA’s 1,147 employees.
• Lake’s authority to take those actions was later questioned by the court.

Judge Lamberth’s Ruling

Lamberth ruled that Lake “did not have the legal authority” to implement the shutdown and that the defendants “have provided nothing approaching a principled basis for their decision.” He ordered USAGM to submit a restoration plan within one week.

“Defendants have provided nothing approaching a principled basis for their decision,” Lamberth wrote.

Reactions

Patsy Widakuswara, VOA’s White House bureau chief and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, expressed gratitude:

“We are eager to begin repairing the damage Kari Lake has inflicted on our agency and our colleagues, to return to our congressional mandate, and to rebuild the trust of the global audience we have been unable to serve for the past year,” she said.

“We know the road to restoring VOA’s operations and reputation will be long and difficult. We hope the American people will continue to support our mission to produce journalism, not propaganda.”

VOA’s Historical Role

Since its formation during World War II, Voice of America has transmitted news coverage to countries around the world, often in places with limited press freedom. Before the executive order, VOA operated in 49 languages, reaching an audience of approximately 362 million people.