HAHAHAHA - Judge temporarily halts Trump from canceling Radio Free Europe, handing embattled broadcasters a lifeline
Journalists angry, Russia, China, Iran happy - Trump mutes Voice of America, makes space for Russian and Chinese influence [...]A ‘democratic disaster’ Why would Trump want to silence pro-US media? Their government-funded but independent stance goes against the project 2025 plan to reshape the US federal government put forward by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation and endorsed by members of the Trump administration. P - “The idea is that the president is the sole repository of all democratic authority, and there should not be democratic checks and balances against him – including independent federal agencies like the USAGM," says Kate Wright, senior lecturer in media and communications at the University of Edinburgh and co-author with Martin Scott of "Capturing News, Capturing Democracy: Trump and the Voice of America". P - The president has attacked the USAGM since his first term and has been spurred on by new advisor Musk, who is in charge of overseeing sweeping government cuts. P - Musk “is one of the first people that started saying the US needed to get rid of Voice of America", says Thompson, “in part because he is an economic libertarian and he wants to dramatically shrink the size of the US government, and in part because he and a lot of others on the right viewed VOA and FRE/RL as essentially being captured by extreme left-wingers. They thought that too much of their content was woke.”
It's an ideological witch hunt. The DOGE mission as stated by Musk is a fraud.
By Brian Stelter, CNN
Published 5:31 PM EDT, Tue March 25, 2025
CNN — One of the international broadcasters targeted for termination by President Donald Trump has been granted a reprieve by a federal judge.
US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth has granted Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s request for a temporary restraining order that will help the broadcaster stay on the air and online for the time being.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty filed suit last week to contest Trump’s shutdown order, claiming it “would violate the Constitution and federal laws.”
Judge Lamberth heard arguments on Monday. Just before the hearing, the Trump administration agreed to pay what it owes Radio Free Europe for the first half of March. But it continued to defend the termination order that took effect March 15.
“We’re confident the law is on our side as the US Constitution grants Congress the exclusive power of the purse,” Radio Free Europe CEO Stephen Capus said in a statement after the hearing. “It is unlawful to deny us the funds that Congress has already appropriated to RFE/RL for the rest of this fiscal year.”
Judge Lamberth signaled agreement in his restraining order against the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM for short) on Tuesday.
“RFE/RL has, for decades, operated as one of the organizations that Congress has statutorily designated to carry out this policy. The leadership of USAGM cannot, with one sentence of reasoning offering virtually no explanation, force RFE/RL to shut down — even if the President has told them to do so,” Lamberth wrote.
The order means that the broadcaster is likely to succeed on the merits of the broader case. Lamberth said he intends to rule “expeditiously” and told the parties to file briefings before the court later this week.
Multiple other lawsuits over Trump’s action to dismantle the US Agency for Global Media are also pending.
Last week several Voice of America journalists, along with multiple unions and the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders, filed a suit alleging the shutdown of VOA was unlawful and unconstitutional.
“The long-term consequences of silencing VOA will reverberate globally, eroding the influence and moral authority of the United States,” VOA’s sidelined chief national correspondent Steve Herman said at a press conference Monday.
A judge will hear arguments in the VOA case on Friday.
Representatives for the agency and RFE/RL did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The judge’s ruling may bode well for the other international broadcasters that are trying to stay on the air despite Trump’s order. Radio Free Asia has furloughed much of its staff and cut back on its daily news coverage while trying to conserve its remaining funds. An executive at the network told CNN that it is also preparing to sue over the grant termination.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
