US court halts Trump administration's decision on Voice of America
Photo: Donald Trump, President of the United States (Getty Images)
Journalists from Voice of America challenged the White House’s actions in court, arguing that their rights were being violated. A federal judge issued a temporary ruling in their favor, according to The New York Times.
Judge J. Paul Oetken of the US District Court in Manhattan ruled on Friday, March 28, to temporarily halt the Trump administration’s efforts to shut down the government-funded international broadcaster Voice of America.
The judge's decision was made during a hearing on a lawsuit filed by Voice of America journalists and their unions.
According to the lawsuit, the Trump administration's actions - such as placing hundreds of journalists on paid leave - violated the First Amendment rights of media representatives.
The New York Times reports that the temporary injunction will last 21 days.
Additionally, the court is expected to review a separate lawsuit filed by Voice of America director Michael Abramowitz.
What is Voice of America
Founded in 1942, Voice of America provides news programming in 49 languages to dozens of countries, including China and Iran, where citizens have limited access to independent journalism.
The broadcaster has long been considered a key element of America’s soft power efforts to promote democracy abroad, according to the NYT.
Voice of America operates with an annual budget of approximately $270 million, and its charter was designed to protect its editorial independence.
Trump's efforts to restrict broadcaster
Recently, Donald Trump accused Voice of America of having a leftist bias. The US president appointed Kari Lake, a close ally and former right-wing TV host, as a special adviser overseeing the main agency.
On March 14, Trump signed an executive order instructing the US Agency for Global Media to eliminate many of its functions.
According to Voice of America employees, they lost access to their work emails and some radio frequencies in Asia and the Middle East.
Similar case with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Earlier this week, a federal judge in Washington also temporarily blocked a similar attempt by the Trump administration to shut down Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, another state-funded broadcaster that originated during the Cold War.
