Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration and Kari Lake over the recent executive order aimed at defunding the US Agency for Global Media, which provides funding for the network and Voice of America.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, DC, argues that the administration’s move to freeze funding violates congressional authority. The network claims it has not received payment on a $7.4 million invoice submitted earlier in the week and warns that staff layoffs may be imminent if funding is not restored.
“Whether to disburse funds as directed by appropriations laws, and whether to make those funds available through grants as directed by the International Broadcasting Act, is not an optional choice for the agency to make. It is the law. Urgent relief is needed to compel the agency to follow the law,” the lawsuit states.
As part of President Trump’s directive to eliminate all non-legally required USAGM activities, over 1,000 employees at USAGM were locked out of station facilities starting March 15 based on Lake’s authority. Lake is named in the suit as Senior Advisor to the Acting Chief Executive Officer.
The move also halted funding for Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, cutting off journalism to 420 million people in more than 100 countries. USAGM had already severed contracts with major news services like the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty CEO Stephen Capus emphasized the urgency of the situation in a statement saying, “This is not the time to cede terrain to the propaganda and censorship of America’s adversaries. We believe the law is on our side and that the celebration of our demise by despots around the world is premature.”
