The plaintiffs argue that Trump’s decision to dismantle the media agency violates the First Amendment and exceeds his presidential authority.
Six Voice of America (VOA) journalists have filed a lawsuit against Trump administration officials, accusing them of illegally shutting down the federally funded media outlet.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in the Southern District of New York, seeks a court order to restore the agency, effectively reversing part of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month that dismantled the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA.
The lawsuit is backed by Reporters Without Borders and four labor organizations. It names USAGM Acting CEO Victor Morales and Special Adviser Kari Lake as defendants. The plaintiffs argue that Trump’s decision to dismantle the media agency violates the First Amendment and exceeds his presidential authority, asserting that Congress alone has oversight over USAGM, as it created and funds the agency.
“In many parts of the world a crucial source of objective news is gone, and only censored state-sponsored news media is left to fill the void,” the complaint said. “What is happening to the VOA Journalists is not just the chilling of First Amendment speech; it is a government shutdown of journalism, a prior restraint that kills content before it can be created.”
The move to cut USAGM was part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to reduce the size of the federal government. The executive order in question scaled back seven different agencies, eliminating non-statutory functions and limiting statutory agencies to only what is explicitly required by law.
The Trump administration has long viewed VOA as a propaganda outlet promoting left-wing ideas. The lawsuit, however, argues that dismantling VOA and its affiliates violates the agency’s statutory firewall, a federal law stating that the head of USAGM “shall respect the professional independence and integrity” of the news outlets, according to The Washington Post.
“The firewall signifies that even though the networks are state funded, they are free, independent journalistic outlets designed to function like the most credible and reputable private news organizations in the world,” the complaint said.
“In the world at large, the vacuum left by Defendants pulling the plug on USAGM’s news networks is being filled by propagandists whose messages will monopolize global airwaves,” the lawsuit added.
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