A federal judge in Washington has ordered President Donald Trump's administration to halt efforts to shut down the Voice of America (VOA), which was shut down last month.
VOA has called the administration's moves to shut down the broadcaster illegal.
Judge Royce Lamberth ruled on April 23 to issue a preliminary injunction that says officials must “take all necessary steps” to reinstate employees and associates to their positions at VOA and to restore funding, approved by Congress, to two other U.S. government-funded broadcasters – Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Network – and resume radio, television and online broadcasts.
Lamberth, who is handling six lawsuits from employees and associates affected by the shutdown ordered by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees federal broadcasters, also ordered media outlets to submit monthly progress reports to show whether USAGM is complying with the order to allow them to “provide news that is consistently reliable, accurate, objective and comprehensive.”
USAGM has not publicly reacted to the court's decision.
Last month, VOA filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after the administration, through an executive order, directed USAGM and six other federal agencies to reduce their work to the minimum required by law.
Subsequently, USAGM laid off more than 1,000 employees and terminated the contracts of about 600 associates, forcing VOA to cease broadcasting for the first time since its founding in 1942.
USAGM had argued that there was "no final decision" regarding the future of VOA in this matter and that the lawsuits should be treated as "employment disputes" with the dismissed employees.
Radio Free Europe has also filed a lawsuit against USAGM to "avoid irreparable harm" to the broadcaster due to the suspension of the grant - approved by Congress - as part of USAGM's efforts to cut off funding to REL.
The Radio Free Europe case is still being handled by the court./REL (A2 Televizion)
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